John “Jack” Vigoren, of Minneapolis and Maple Plain, Minnesota, passed away on Wednesday, January 24th, 2024.
Jack was born to Roy and Evelyn Vigoren on August 6, 1947. One of seven siblings (six boys), Jack enjoyed a raucous upbringing along the banks of the Mississippi River. He graduated from Minnehaha Academy in 1965 where he played football and enjoyed many high school friends.
He graduated from the University of Minnesota and, later, the William Mitchell College of Law. Through his years in law school he served as a police officer for the City of Saint Paul.
In the early 1980s he settled in Maple Plain, MN, a small town where he practiced law. He would eventually become mayor in 1996, after campaigning with a large sign with the message, “YES WE CAN GET A LIGHT OH HIGHWAY 12!” He pulled that sign through the streets of town with a tractor and a hay wagon. That turned out to be a winning strategy. He was an active member of Christ Lutheran Church where he served as Choir Director for more than a decade.
Jack was known for his musicality, his gregarious and flirtatious personality, and a brusque indignation that you either loved or hated. Whether teasing his grandsons, telling a dirty joke, or playing a winning hand he always knew how to get a rise out of someone while making them smile. He lived life outspoken and unfiltered and encouraged those he loved to do the same.
Jack received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2017. With the help of the local Alzheimer’s Association and the Norman-dale Center for Healing and Wholeness he and his family were able to adjust to, and live with the disease.
Jack is preceded in death by his parents Roy and Evelyn, his brother George, sister Janet Louise, and his beloved son Joshua.
He is survived by his wife Margie, son Luke, daughter Alena (Wesley) Fuhrman, daughter Tessa (Andrew) Silbernagel, and grandsons Harvey, Loudon, Roger, and Edgar. He is also survived by his siblings Gerald, Martha, Robert, Paul, and Doug, as well as a multitude of in-laws, nieces, nephews, and friends. A private interment was held for immediate family at Riverside Cemetery near Annandale, MN. A memorial will be held by the family this summer on July 6, 2024.
Memorials may be directed to:
The Normandale Center for Healing and Wholeness
6100 Normandale Rd
Edina, MN 55436
Or The Alzheimer’s Association at:
https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Events/Tributes-AlzheimersChampions?pg=fund&fr_id=1060&pxfid=859689