Bruce A. Folken, 74

Bruce A. Folken, 74, of Austin MN (Sun Lakes, AZ), died of heart failure on Monday February 10, 2025 at Chandler Regional Memorial Hospital in Chandler, AZ. Bruce was born April 18, 1950, in Austin, MN to Arthur and Shirley (Mellem) Folken. He attended Austin High School and graduated in 1968. On September 4, 1971, he married Debra White in Austin MN. Bruce graduated from the University of Minnesota. In 1973 he was hired as a Teacher in Red Wing, MN for Business & Marketing at the Red Wing Vocational Institute. In August of 1976, he began his 35 year career at American Greetings. This brought him and his family across the country for 10 years until they moved back to Eagan, MN where he exclusively managed greeting card departments in every Target store across the country for his final 25 years, until he retired in May of 2009.

Bruce was a hardworking man who was proud to hold a resume that included jobs as a paper-boy, clothing sales associate, Hormel plant worker, Tax Accountant, and lots of volunteering. His full-time job managing Target stores took him to every state except for Vermont, and he loved seeing new cities, finding new roads, meeting new people, and telling old stories. During his early retirement years in Apple Valley, MN, Bruce was passionate about volunteering with the Norway House in Minneapolis, MN, and successfully leading the efforts for Apple Valley to be recognized as a Yellow Ribbon city, which resulted in a run for the MN House of Representatives in 2014. His other hobbies included fishing, golfing, watching any Minnesota sports team, listening to music, and understanding his Norwegian heritage. His one trip outside of the U.S. brought him “home” to Norway where he was able to visit the 4 family homesteads and finding meaningful connections with cousins in multiple cities.

After many years of visiting Arizona during the MN winters, Bruce retired to Sun Lakes, Arizona in 2019 where he finally escaped the cold weather of MN, but his heart never left his hometown of Austin, MN. In 2022, he went home to lead a 50-year anniversary celebration of one of the favorite landmarks of his lifetime, The Tower, a live music venue for local teenagers.

In addition to his wife Debra of 53 years, Bruce is survived by; his two sons, Jason (Regina) Folken, Alex (Diem) Folken; two grandchildren, Ainsley Sloan Folken and Harper Bruce Folken; siblings Sue (Tim) Perkins, David (Cindy) Folken, Scott Folken, Sally Fuller, John (Michelle) Folken; nieces, nephews and many cousins. Bruce is preceded in death by his parents.

The Folken family wishes to thank the staff at the Chandler Regional Memorial Hospital, the Arizona Fire and Medical Authority for their kind and compassionate care.

Visitation will be held from 11:00am – 1:30pm, with a short program at 12:30pm on Saturday March 1, 2025 at Royal Cliff Banquet Center, 2280 Cliff Road, Eagan MN 55122. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to be directed to the American Cancer Society.