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Robert Ray Wiens

Bob was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota on October 21, 1950. He was one of four children raised by Andrew and Marie Wiens. His parents raised the family on a farm in Munich, ND and they worked hard on the farm, but also had lots of fun together. Over the years on the farm one memorable occasion was Bob getting to raise his own steer which he showed through 4H. Bob graduated from Alsen High School with eight other classmates. He went on to attend the University of North Dakota where he became a huge Fighting Sioux fan. He graduated with his BA in Accounting and became an accountant in the Twin Cities.

While working at North American Life and Casualty Company in Minneapolis, he met the love of his life, Carol Helen Adams and they began dating. They were married at St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church in Plymouth on July 16, 1977. Bob started a CPA firm with two other partners which was known as Mattson, Westlund and Wiens. He and Carol had two sons, Jeremy and Christopher (Cricky), and raised them in White Bear Lake. Upon moving to the area, they became members of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi.

While the kids were growing up, they liked to take them on family trips. They took all the typical Midwestern trips and went to Disneyworld, the Black Hills of South Dakota, Yellowstone Park, completed a circle tour of Lake Superior, and saw many state and national parks. The family cabin was also a favorite destination for the family, with boating and tubing on the lake.

After the kids graduated, Carol and Bob took more international trips such as Europe, Mexico, China, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean. One of the most special trips was in 2017 when they took their sons and families on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Outside of his work and his family, Bob was adventurous and an avid outdoorsman. He was extremely active and could be found biking, kayaking, gardening, hiking, and taking walks. He took annual hunting trips with his brother-in-law Russ and fishing trips over the years, most recently with buddies Larry and Oigie. He biked many times in the six-day MS Ride Across Minnesota to support the fight against MS and formed great friendships with his teammates. Bob was a busy guy, always working on projects outside in the yard and around the house. No jobs stayed on the honey-do list long, as he loved to complete them.

His love for his alma mater continued after he left North Dakota and one of his favorite pastimes was to watch the UND hockey team each season. Bob was a great man whose friends remember his infectious laugh. Bob was someone who loved to be surrounded by his family, friends, neighbors, and clients. Bob will be missed by all who knew him.

In 2017, Bob began his fight with lung cancer. The hardest part of that year-long journey was he lost his ability to continue his active lifestyle. His family supported him throughout it all and would get him outside as much as possible. They would go up to the cabin on Lake Alexander and continue to socialize with friends and family. Bob passed away at his home on Tuesday July 17 surrounded by his loving family. He is preceded in death by his parents, Andrew and Marie Wiens; his infant brother, Victor Wiens; his father-in-law, Leonard Adams; his mother-in-law, Marilyn Adams; and his brother-in-law, Peter Brunsberg. He will be dearly missed by his wife of 41 years, Carol Wiens of White Bear Lake, MN; his sons, Jeremy (Emily Schmall) Wiens of Falcon Heights, MN, and Christopher “Cricky” (Rebecca Droste) Wiens of South Minneapolis, MN; his granddaughter, Nathalia Schmall; his siblings, Helen (Russ) Petty of Devils Lake, ND, Arlene (Loren) Janzen of Penn, ND, and Arnold (Heidi) Wiens of Colorado Springs, CO; his siblings-in-law, James (Linda) Adams of Plymouth, MN, Janet (Les) Moen of Rogers, MN, and Julie (Tim Gunter) Brunsberg of Crystal, MN; and many other family and friends.

There will be a reception to celebrate Bob’s life from 4-8PM on Friday, July 20th with a service at 5PM, all at Mueller Memorial, 4738 Bald Eagle Avenue, White Bear Lake. There will be a private interment at the family cemetery.

In lieu of flowers the family would prefer donations to be made to any of the following organizations that Bob supported.

• Lake Links - http://www.lakelinks.net
• Parks and Trails Council of MN - https://www.parksandtrails.org
• White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf - http://whitebearfoodshelf.org