Albert Lea lost a mayor, activist and gifted artist Monday when former mayor Marv Wangen died at his home at 2013 Tower Rd.

Tuesday, January 22, 2002

Albert Lea lost a mayor, activist and gifted artist Monday when former mayor Marv Wangen died at his home at 2013 Tower Rd. He was 70.

Funeral services will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Ascension Lutheran Church in Albert Lea. Visitation will be Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home in Albert Lea, and one hour prior to the services at the church.

Friends said Wangen had been under hospice care because of cancer. He had been fighting against the disease for a long period, back to the time of his mayorship.

Wangen was first elected to the Albert Lea City Council as the third ward’s councilman in 1975. He served for 15 years as a councilor, then was elected mayor in 1990. He retired after his fifth two-year term, tying two others as the longest-sitting mayor in Albert Lea history.

Ron Sorenson, a current city council member who served with Wangen, said he will miss Wangen the man.

&uot;He was a man of integrity, a man of character, and he really cared about people. He’s really going to be missed by the community.&uot;

Sorenson remembers working on the council with Wangen during the Wilson and Co. bankruptcy crisis, which put more than 1,000 out of work. Wangen provided the steady hand, the stable presence that was needed, Sorenson said.

&uot;Marv was constantly going to meetings – very much a passionate man about the issues that affected people. He always put the community first,&uot; Sorenson said.

Paul Sparks was hired as city manager 23 years ago, when Wangen was on the city council, and over the years has found him to be a man who loved politics, loved government, and who always was a gentleman.

&uot;He had a clear sense of what government should be and how it should conduct itself. For a politician he never let his ego get away with him -&160;in 23 years I never saw him put himself first,&uot; Sparks said.

Sparks feels the loss personally as well as professionally.

&uot;He was a terrific mayor, a real gentleman, and a personal friend. He was there through a lot of good and bad times, for me personally, and also for the community. He will be missed,&uot; he said.

Wangen was also known as a devoted activist for the Democratic Party. He was chairman of the Freeborn County DFL Committee from 1962 to 1966 and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1964.

&uot;He was superb man as a mayor as well as an individual,&uot; said Pat Piper of Austin, a former DFL state senator for District 27.

Piper and Wangen worked together on a number of policy issues. &uot;He was generously giving of his time for a variety of interests in the community. He had a gifted talent for humor, too,&uot; Piper recalled.

Wangen always supported progressive activities, friends said. He was a regular speaker at a commemorating ceremony for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on Jan. 21 each year. This year’s ceremony, held Monday at First Lutheran Church, was dedicated to Wangen, who was not able to attend.

Ted Hinnenkamp, who made the speech this year, was shocked when he heard about Wangen’s death. &uot;We are missing his speech. They are not replaceable,&uot; he said.

Friends praised his community involvement and passion for helping others.

&uot;He was a brave man,&uot; Collette Turcotte, Director of Community Action in Freeborn County, said about his struggle. &uot;He was such an easy-to-be-with person, and I consider him my friend.&uot;

&uot;I trusted his ethics and intelligence,&uot; Turcotte said. Wangen was always supportive of Community Action’s programs for the underprivileged and joined a number of events that the agency organized, she said.

Wangen was born in Pickerel Lake Township on April 21, 1931. He graduated from Alden High School in 1949, then spent three years in the military as a signal corps cryptographer. After his discharge, he attended Dunwoody Institute and the Minneapolis Art Institute, then returned to Albert Lea, where he worked in advertising and graphics.

In 1974, he co-founded his own advertising company, Putman and Wangen, Inc., which later became Wangen Advertising, Inc. His son, Aaron, now owns and operates the business.

Turcotte remembers that Wangen used to sketch kids whenever he had an occasion. One of his last works was a logo design for the Newcomer’s Resource Center, an organization Community Action has been planning with support from the Chamber of Commerce. He also recently illustrated a children’s book that was given away to Freeborn County children as part of the 2001 United Way fund campaign.