Cliff Buchan
News Editor

William H. Muske Sr., a man who came to St. Paul from the prairies of North Dakota in 1939 to launch a business that still bears his name, has died.

Muske, the founder of what is today ERA Muske Co. Real Estate, based in Forest Lake, died Saturday, June 30 at his home in Forest Lake. He was 89.

Muske’s name remains attached to one of the most successful real estate companies in the region, headed today by his son, Mike, who joined his father in 1978. The elder Muske spent more than a half century in real estate and real estate appraisals.

During his half century of work the elder Muske won numerous professional awards and designations, worked for charitable causes and was a solid family man, his sons said this week.

Through it all, Mike Muske said, his father remained a man who had friends from all walks of life. While he was a friend and advisor to governors, he was also a friend of common workers, his son said.

“He has friends who were high-level elective officials, but it didn’t matter,” Mike Muske said. “He just had a lot of friends. Those things were more important than money. Everywhere we went, he knew everyone, and from all walks of life.”

Muske’s history

William Muske Sr. was born in South Haven, MI, on Feb. 21, 1918. His parents, Ida and William Henry Muske and their family of five children moved to North Dakota when he was a young boy.

Muske grew up in the Glen Ulin and Wahpeton areas of North Dakota. He spent his youth working in grocery stores, sold clothing and served as a driver for his father who sold Chevrolets for a number of years.

In 1939 he graduated from the North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton with a degree in business administration. He set out for St. Paul the same year, passing on an opportunity to work in the oil business in Texas.

“He grew up in poverty,” said his son, Jim. The family moved often before settling in the Wahpeton area.

In St. Paul, Muske found employment with Thom Realty. He sold property and worked with property management of rental units. “He was the guy who took care of everything,” Mike Muske said.

He married Elsie Kuchera of Wyndmere, ND, on July 23, 1940 and the couple moved to St. Paul.

Muske stayed with Thom for the next decade before leaving to form William H. Muske Company Realtors in downtown St. Paul in 1950. In 1958 the business became Muske Tansey Co.

It was also in 1958 that Muske received the coveted Member Appraisal Institute designation from the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisals.

Mike Muske said his father had a sixth sense when it came to real estate business dealings. “Dad saw things 20 years before they happened,” his son said.

That sixth sense led the company to Forest Lake in 1978. William and Elsie Muske had made Forest Lake their year-round home in 1972, moving from the Highland Park area, and had been summer residents on First Lake since 1960.

He remained active with ERA Muske Co. for the next decade before going into semi-retirement while still working in the appraisal field. The company retained an office in St. Paul until the mid-1990s.

During his years in St. Paul he was active in numerous public events and causes, including the Jaycees, Knights of Columbus and the St. Paul Chamber. He was also instrumental in securing the property site along the St. Croix River near Marine on St. Croix which is today the home for the Dunrovin Brothers Christian Retreat Center.

During his business career, Muske held the titles of president of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers Minnesota Chapter, the Minnesota Association of Realtors and the St. Paul Board of Realtors.

He was honored as Minnesota Realtor of the Year in 1968 by the Minnesota Association of Realtors.

He was a past director of the National Association of Realtors and was a member of the elite American Society of Real Estate Counselors, CRE designation.

In the 1970s, he testified in Washington, D.C., on behalf of Native American tribes in North Dakota over reservation land appraisal issues.

Funeral details

A Mass of Christian Burial for William Howard Muske will take place at 10:30 a.m., Friday, July 6 at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Forest Lake, with interment at Calvary Cemetery, Forest Lake.

Visitation is from 4-8 p.m., today (Thursday) at Mueller Memorial Lake Chapel, 4738 Bald Eagle Ave. at Third St. in White Bear Lake.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 67 years, Elsie; children William “Bill” (Mickey) Muske Jr., Forest Lake, Carol Muske-Dukes, New York, NY, Bob (Mary Jo) Muske, Forest Lake, Jim (Kathy) Muske, Los Angeles, CA, Mike (Jane) Muske, Forest Lake, and Michele (Todd) Mueller, Arden Hills; 12 grandchildren, Shelly, Billy, Amy, Bob Jr., Annie, Molly, John, Chris, Kelsey, Lauren, Mitch and Andrew; five great-grandchildren, Shannon, Sheamus, Patrick, Maureen and Mykenna.

He was preceded in death by his parents, four siblings, one grandson, Daniel, and son-in-law David Dukes.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to Little Sisters of the Poor or Sharing and Caring Hands.

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