Michael “Mike” Alfonse Klesel
Beloved husband, stepfather, father, grandpa, brother and uncle.
Age 65 of Woodbury, Minnesota. Died unexpectedly on October 31, 2020 at our farm in Bristow, Oklahoma.
Preceded in death by his parents Alfonse and Margaret; brothers Daniel; and wife LaVerne and Melvin.
Survived by his wife Cheryl; stepchildren Ryan Renslow of Benson, North Carolina and Andrea Borgstrom of Minneapolis, Minnesota; grandchildren Hailey, Annaleese, Jessiah or Peanut as Grandpa would call him, Jessariah, Milania, Myssiah, Jaylani and Malakai; brother-in-law Kevin Borgstrom; sister-in-law Terese Almquist and many nieces and nephews.
He is also survived by his children Chris, Robin and Katie; six grandchildren; brother James (Barbara); sisters Rose Pustka (Joe), Judy Rothbauer (Richard) and Elaine Jasek (Marvin); and sister in law Linda Klesel; all of Texas.
Mike was born and raised in Hallettsville, Texas. He graduated from Sacred Heart School and went on to put himself through college graduating from the DeVry Institute of Technology in Dallas, Texas where he earned a BA in Electronic Engineering. He loved his job as a Project Manager working for several medical device companies throughout the United States. He was very proud of all his accomplishments.
He met Cheryl Borgstrom in 1999, they married on June 30th, 2001 at Lands Lutheran Church in Zumbrota. After the wedding, they moved to Morgan Hill, California where they lived for three years.
In 2004, they moved back to Minnesota where they made their home in Woodbury. Mike worked for a couple medical device companies in Minnesota over the next few years. He then took a job Tulsa and moved to Oklahoma. How fitting for him as I knew he loved the warm weather. Eventually we purchased a home in Bristow, Oklahoma with 50 acres so Mike could start working towards retirement.
In 2015, Mike retired from the corporate world and took on his dream “job” of farming full-time. He raised cattle and chickens, alongside his faithful dogs Shelby and Jack. Every summer Mike was fortunate enough to have his little farm hand Jessiah there by his side teaching him the country life ways. Mike even put his green thumb to good use planting a huge vegetable garden every year. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do.
Mike will be dearly missed by his family and friends. I know you will love the farm life in Heaven. As he always told everyone, our marriage was like “Green Acres,” but we made it work. Mike’s favorite saying to me was always “Farm living is the life for me!” You are at peace now, go rest high on that mountain.
Love you always, your big dreamer, Mrs.
Visitation from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM at Sandberg Funeral Home, 2593 E. 7th Avenue, North St. Paul on Wednesday, December 2, 2020. Funeral Service 11:00 AM at Lands Lutheran Church, 16640 Hwy 60 Boulevard, Zumbrota, MN on Thursday, December 3, 2020. Interment Pine Island Cemetery, Pine Island, Minnesota.