Guy Grant Gustafson
July 3, 1944 ~ February 22, 2025
Resided in:
Virgina, Minnesota
Guy’s service will be livestreamed below:
Guy Grant Gustafson, 80, of Virginia, MN entered eternal rest on February 22, 2025. His soul is with the Lord and he has been reunited with loved ones who passed before him. We too will be reunited with Guy one great day. Guy was helping friends, as he was well known to do, when he passed unexpectedly after cutting down a tree. He was doing what he loved up until his very last breath.
Guy was born on July 3, 1944 in Norman County, MN to Victor and Joy (Hopwood) Gustafson. He graduated from high school in Brainerd, MN and the University of North Dakota. Guy enlisted in the Army only two weeks after graduating from UND in 1967 so he could volunteer for airborne school, the Green Berets, and to deploy to Vietnam, something he yearned for while attending college. In 1969 and 1970, he served in the 5th Special Forces Group and endured heavy combat as a Green Beret combat advisor and senior medic for a Special Forces “A” Team at a camp less than a mile from the Cambodian border. Guy was mission critical treating trauma injuries, but also conducted a number of humanitarian missions to include delivering over a dozen babies and performing dental extractions. Following a passion to serve as his father had during WWII, Guy remarked that he would do it again in a “Minnesota Minute.” Guy married Margo Pfeiffer in 1973. Born of this union were Christine Joy in 1973 and Alicia Ann in 1974. They lived on Tulaby Lake. Guy married Michele Frenette in 1983.
Guy worked for many years in safety and risk management but his true joy came from nature. Guy was an avid hunter and real-life Paul Bunyan. His passion for fishing knew no bounds. If he could have, he would have taken every human on this Earth fishing on Lake Superior so they too could experience the thrill he felt. Guy was known to say things like “Fishing is not a matter of life or death; it is much more important than that!” and he meant it! Guy was also a renowned cook and food connoisseur who relished every meal. Guy earned his private pilot license with single and multiengine land and sea ratings in 1983. Guy operated a logging business while living in Elbow Lake and caring for his father from 1996-1998. Guy moved to Virgina, MN and purchased his home there in 2005.
Guy’s faith guided his life. He came to the aid of those closest to him and strangers alike. He was a kind and humble man. A great man to those who loved him. He prayed every day for those in service who place themselves in harm’s way for the rest of us. Guy would often pray at the table to thank the Lord for his blessings and ask that He be with those he could not be with.
Guy is survived by his beloved daughters, Christine Gustafson and Alicia Richards; his beautiful granddaughters, Sophia Richards, Rian Richards (Ben Vander Griend), and Britan Richards; his great- grandson, Shepherd Vander Griend; his sister Kathy Karr; his nieces and nephews who were all his favorite, and countless cherished friends and extended family. Everyone Guy met became a friend and he cared deeply for all he knew.
Guy was preceded in death by his parents, Victor and Joy Gustafson; his sister, Janice Gustafson and his sister Vickii Betts and her husband Wally; and his nieces Holly Hess and Brooke Speed.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 22, 2025 at Boulger Funeral Home in Fargo, ND with visitation beginning at 1:00 pm. All are welcome to share this time with the community of people who loved Guy. Livestream will be available for those who are unable to attend in person.
As Guy would always say, “Bye for now. Fish On, G3, Airborne All the Way.”
Services
Visitation - Saturday: March 22, 2025 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Boulger Funeral Home and Celebration of Life Center
123 10th Street S.
Fargo, North Dakota 58103
701-237-6441
www.boulgerfuneralhome.com
Funeral Service - Saturday: March 22, 2025 2:00 pm
Boulger Funeral Home and Celebration of Life Center
123 10th Street S.
Fargo, North Dakota 58103
701-237-6441
www.boulgerfuneralhome.com
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Guy will be missed. Best darn fisherman pal!
Guy was certainly one of a kind. Always had time to talk or text about family and events going on. He cared for others and spent a ton of quality time with the Lunseth’s over the past 20 years. We will miss him dearly. Prayers and Sympathy for his family and friends.
Where I grew up, Guy Gustafson and his dad, Vic, were practically legends. They were both veterans, and they both loved the outdoors. Vic passed away years ago, but I still cherish the time I spent learning from him.
Guy would often stop by the lake, visit with my dad, and hunt in the nearby woods. Time goes by, and what sticks with you are the memories of those you grew up with, the people who shared their wisdom.
I saw Guy this fall, full of life talking about either hunting, fishing or cutting fire wood and of course cooking a big meal.
Thinking about him brings a smile to my face. There will never be another Guy Gustafson.
Guy was a friend to all he met, an avid outdoorsman, he was always ready for the next hunting or fishing adventure. He became a friend of ours in 1998 when he and I were both working at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. He was also very generous with his time and abilities to help out his friends. I recall soon after I moved to Saginaw Michigan in 2003, he trailered my large boat over to Frankfort, Michigan where we met and fished the entire Labor Day weekend. The salmon bite was on and we loaded up on fish. He enjoyed staying briefly in my apartment in Bay City and eventually headed back to Virginia, MN. In 2006 our daughter, Betsy, was to travel across the UP and join us for Christmas but her car broke down just outside Superior, WI. Guy dropped everything he was doing, picked her up in his truck and we rendezvoused near Chicago. He was always like that with friends, always willing to help out. I’m sure the fish in Lake Superior are resting easier these days, knowing that Guy won’t be out there chasing them as he has over the past 25 years! This short poem goes out to Guy and all his army buddies who have preceded him:
Come what comes
If you want to meet me
In the years ahead
You will find me
Where men tent together
Alongside a stream
The first shy days of any Spring
And where corn shocks march in ordered rows
Against the hazy sky of every Fall
Fish On, G3 we’ll miss you!
Guy was more than an Uncle, he was a mentor. He often told me the story of him reading in a letter that my Mother (his sister) named me after him. His reaction was “Oh no” as he knew I would probably be teased as he probably was. Yes, many jokes can derive from this moniker, but I always shrugged it off because I was named after my Uncle and I was quite proud of that. I recall when I was a young teenager, he gave me my first lesson at navigating my way through the woods with nothing more than a compass and some sound instruction from the former Green Beret. Walking solo through those woods I didn’t consider myself young and naive, but his confidence in me was contagious and I eventually came out of those woods not far from the cabin (missed it by a little bit because my pace count was not quite developed yet). Uncle Guy and I shared a common bond by both serving in the military. Uncle Guy never pushed military life on me, but sometimes I wish he had so that perhaps I would have gone to the Special Forces as he did. My path started in the Air Force, but I quickly found myself in Airborne school and off to a Special Operations community like my Uncle. From then on, almost every call and text started or ended with “Airborne”. I remember him telling me about when he would jump off of roofs to practice his parachute landing falls. I never went that high up to practice, but I think my era of parachutes were designed better (and he was braver than I for sure). Uncle Guy did not go into details of his time in Vietnam, although he always spoke fondly of the training he had. I’ve worked with a lot of Green Berets in my time in the Air Force and as an Army Pilot. I always proudly told them about my Uncle and the respect for him continued to grow as I learned more and more about what he was. I asked him years ago to write down to share about his events for his family, but like many veterans, he shyed away from that. It wasn’t until this week that I disovered he did share a little summary of his time in Vietnam and I was grateful to be able to read about it. The things he did and endured can only be replicated in Hollywood beyond our imaginations. Yet another testimate of the great man he was. I think he carried his love of fishing to Vietnam. He shared a story with me that they once threw a grenade into the water and up came some fish floating to the top. I guess there was no game warden to worry about and I’m certain he put on a master class on how to properly clean those fish. My Uncle taught me how to fish and hunt and to appreciate and respect nature. It is not easy to share a story of such a great and loved person without a periodic pause to wipe away a tear. That in itself describes best how I feel about my Uncle. You will forever be missed, Uncle Guy. Airborne! All the Way!
With deepest sympathy, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Guy’s family and loved ones. Wishing you comfort and peace during this difficult time.