Glenn Joel Kangas
Glenn Joel Kangas, 91 of Bemidji, MN died Sunday, October 11, 2026 at Neilson Place in Bemidji, MN.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am, Friday, October 16, 2026 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji with a visitation one hour prior to the service. Interment will be held at Turtle Lake Township Cemetery in rural Bemidji.
Glenn was born October 17, 1934, in Kingston, MN, the son of Roy & Marian (Peterson) Kangas. He was raised in a loving family and lived in Kingston, Watertown, Strout, Litchfield & Dassel, MN. In 1950, they moved to a farm in Ethan, SD. At 16 years old, Glenn realized Jesus was real and gave his life to Christ one night at Luther League. He moved back to Dassel, MN, lived with his grandparents, Art & Hannah Kangas, and graduated from high school in 1952. He attended pre-engineering at Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, SD, 1952-53, before joining the National Guard. In Oct. 1954, he enlisted in the Army and received basic training at Ft. Leonardwood, MO. He attended engineering school in Fort Belvoir, VA, and was trained as a surveyor. While on furlough, he went home to S.D. and married his sweetheart, Marles (Vogel) Kangas on Dec. 30, 1955, at St. John's Lutheran Church, rural Dimock, SD. After a 3-day honeymoon, Glenn was given temporary duty, to Ft. Shafter, Honolulu, HI. He was the surveyor of a project in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the 'Punch Bowl', and prepared burial for 852 unknown soldiers from the Korean War.
Glenn attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, graduating in May, 1959, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. They moved to Milwaukee, WI, where Glenn entered the Graduate Training Course at Allis Chalmers, doing research & testing on the one, and only, fuel cell tractor which now sits in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
Glenn chose his next assignment at the Allis Chalmers Nuclear Reactor Lab where he was responsible for designing, building and testing the test sections of the reactor. This required explicit documentation and security clearance from the Atomic Energy Commission. He co-authored and presented these reports to the nuclear reactor community at conferences around the United States.
In 1964, Glenn earned his Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin. He accepted a job with the 3M Company in St. Paul, MN, in the Nuclear Products Division, where they had secret government contracts requiring security clearance. Glenn moved up to the Staff Engineering Dept. of 3M. In 1972, he became manager of the Matina pilot plant, receiving contracts from Ford and General Motors. In 1974, he helped set up the facility and built a Matina production line in Germany. While there, 3M had Glenn contact the European Nuclear Regulatory Agencies to get licensure for U.S. nuclear products. Marles accompanied Glenn on this 3-week trip in the spring of 1975, visiting Germany, Austria, Holland, France, Switzerland and England.
From 1976-1986, Glenn & a business partner owned Bradley motors in Erskine, MN, a farm implement and car sales dealer. In 1984 he sold enough Ford tractors and qualified for a trip to Rome, Italy, with Marles.
In 1986, Glenn took his insurance and securities exams and was licensed by the state of MN, working for Lutheran Brotherhood. He had 31 Lutheran churches in his territory and was responsible for 3 branch groups. He retired from "the best job I ever had" in 2001. He enjoyed playing golf and traveling with Marles to see their kids, grandkids, great grandkids and siblings. They lived in the Erskine area for 36 years and were members at Grace Lutheran Church. During retirement he worked at the Win-E-Mac truck stop for 8 yrs. and enjoyed visiting with people.
On October 12, 2012, Glenn and Marles moved to The Meadows in Bemidji, and became members of Trinity Lutheran Church.
When Glenn's eyesight failed he lived with granddaughter Hannah & family for 10 months, moved to Nielsen Place for 9 months and then went home to be with his Lord & Savior on October 11, 2026.
Glenn is survived by his children, Kevin (Rebecca) Kangas, Bemidji, MN; Karen (John) Richards, Fargo, ND; Joel (Lisa) Kangas, Erskine, MN; Paul (Lea) Kangas, Dayton, MN; 15 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; sisters, Ramona Erickson, Plankinton, SD, and Kristie (Rick) Musick, Houston, TX; brother, Gail (Faye) Kangas, Rapid City, SD, Sisters-in-law, Shirley Kangas, Mitchell, SD and Fran Kangas, Loveland, CO.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Marles, his parents, brothers, John Kangas and Jerry Kangas, and brother-in-law, Peter Erickson.