Paul Wangen, 60

Paul W. Wangen, age 60, of Grand Rapids, MN, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Monday, July 17th, 2023 after a tough battle with Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Paul was born on September 15th, 1962, in Austin, MN to Omer & Geraldine (Adair) Wangen. He graduated from Austin High School in 1981 and attended college in Mankato before going to work as a Honda mechanic. In 1993, Paul and former wife, Renee, had their son, Anthony, whom Paul referred to as “the best thing he ever did”.

Paul opened Wangen Automotive in Austin in 1998 and ran his successful business for over 15 years with the tagline “Customer First…Service Best”. He moved to the mountains and went on to work as Fixed Operations Manager for LazyDays RV in Colorado, but eventually made his way back to the midwest. He ended his career at Bergstrom Automotive in Wisconsin and retired in July of 2022. After retiring, he moved to Grand Rapids, MN where he bought his dream cabin on Pokegama Lake to live out his days.

Paul and his son, Tony, rarely spent a day apart and both enjoyed all things with motors, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, and more recently helping his family farm. Paul is remembered for his quick wit, sarcasm, and immense love and loyalty for his family and friends.

Paul is preceded in death by his parents, Geraldine and Omer; and brother-in-law Tom Freese. He is survived by his son, Anthony (Jaclyn) Wangen, of Austin; sister, Karen Freese and her children Ellen (Aaron) Goslee, Jessica Freese, and Jared Freese; brother, Dave (Lori) Wangen and their children Mat (Heather) Wangen and Katie Johnson; as well as great nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held at The Old Mill Backyard in Austin, MN on Saturday, August 19th from 2-6pm.