Cliff Buchan
News Editor

By his own account, Jim Gessell had not lived in Forest Lake since the mid 1970s. But Jim Gessell never stopped thinking of Forest Lake as home, not for a minute.

A Fargo, ND native, Gessell moved here in 1956 and spent close to 20 years with involvement in Forest Lake civic and governmental functions. He always stayed in tune with Forest Lake doings while living in St. Paul.

Gessell, who was mayor for four years and spent a total of seven years on the village council, died Sunday, Aug. 13 at his home in St. Paul after a seven-week struggle with cancer. He was 73.

Forest Lake was one of the first stops for Gessell in a career with Bell Telephone Co. and US West that would span more than 33 years. He went to work for the company in Fargo as a lineman and later a cable splicer.

Gessell first arrived in Forest Lake in the winter of 1956 after spending four years in the United States Marine Corps. The phone company puts its employees up in places like Rand Cabins and Vogel's Hotel and it was a move that sent Gessellís roots into Forest Lakeís fabric.

Growing up in Fargo, the lifestyle and people in Forest Lake were to his liking, he said in an interview three weeks ago.

ìEveryone would talk to you,î he said. ìAll these nice people I kept meeting. I decided to stay.î

Life in FL

In his 20 years here, Gessell found many ways to get involved in his community.

He became involved with government when he questioned a council plan to pave a street near his home before sewer and water had been extended to the area. It seemed like a waste to do the job over when it was clear sewer and water would soon be needed.

Gessell prevailed in convincing officials to change the plan and then spent the next year attending council meetings learning and listening. He became actively involved in 1967 when he ran for the village council and won election.

In 1969 he was elected mayor and won a second two-year term in 1971. He spent six years in all on the council.

As an elected official, Gessell said he would often chat with local residents while on the job as a cable splicer. ìPeople didnít know who I was,î he said. ìI would ask for their opinions.î

During his tenure on the council, Gessell said he felt the city made strides with establishing development setbacks along W. Broadway Ave., the formation of Beltz Park next to St. Peterís Church and the early steps in trying to redevelop the downtown when shopping malls were expanding into Forest Lake.

He was active in the VFW Post 4210 where he served a term as commander. He was also a member of American Legion Post 225, the Forest Lake Jaycees and played baseball for a short time with the Forest Lake Lakers town team.

He served a one-year term on the city planning commission. He moved to White Bear Lake and eventually St. Paul in the mid-1970s, but never could put Forest Lake out of his mind, he said.

ìEvery time I heard the words Forest Lake my ears would prick up,î he said. ìI consider Forest Lake my home town.î

Just last summer, Gessell poured many hours of time into helping arrange and promote an appearance of the Original Glenn Miller Orchestra in Forest Lake.

Long a huge fan of the big band sound, Gessell had contacts with the band and helped secure a date and a bargain appearance fee for the band to play in Forest Lake. More than $7000 was raised for the high school choral program with a sold-out concert at the high school.

Gessell was already working on plans for a second concert later this year before his cancer diagnosis.

The early years

John James Gessell was born in Fargo on May 4, 1933. His father, John, was a Great Northern Railroad man and his mother, Cornelia, worked as a sales clerk in Fargo.

He graduated from Fargo Central High in 1951.

During his high school years he played baseball and spent part of one summer on an American Legion team that included Roger Maris, the eventual New York Yankee who would hit 61 home runs in 1961 to break Babe Ruthís single season record.

ìI had the urge to travel,î he said. He spent the year after high school in Seattle working in an aircraft plant. Tired of being away from home, he hitch-hiked to Fargo in the fall of 1952. He was a night janitor in a movie theater before he decided to join the Marines.

He served from 1953 through 1955 with the 3rd Marine Division and was bound for Korea when the conflict came to a close. He spent the next 16 months in Japan. His infantry training included stops on Okinawa for war games and his force was on stand-by for possible duty in Southeast Asia. Later, while serving the final year of his duty in California, he was one of many Marines flying over Nevada to watch the testing of the A-bomb.

ìWe were six miles away from the blast,î he said. ìWe saw the cloud coming to us.î

He was a sergeant in the infantry division when he was discharged at Camp Pendleton in November of 1955.

His telephone industry career was still in progress when he died this week. Gessell spent 35 years in all with the company before retiring from US West in 1991.

He left that year to form Foneman, Inc. a company that sold, installed and maintained commercial and residential telephone systems. For the past 10 years he has worked the business with his daughter, Jennifer Taylor.

Funeral Details

A celebration of the life of John James ìJimî Gessell is planned for 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 23 at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive. Visitation is slated from 5-7 p.m.

The public is invited to join the family following the program for cake and coffee at American Legion Post 225, 355 W. Broadway Ave.

He is survived by two daughters, Jennifer (Bob) Taylor, Stacy, and Cindy (Jim) Pearson, Mission, TX; grandchildren Katherine, Alex, Lauren, Harrison and Thomas; siblings Loren ìDeweyî (Janice) Gessell, Richard Gessell and Nancy (Walter) Jonas; many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

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Forest Lake Times
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880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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