Rodney Henry Torkelson

He was born on January 22, 1938, in Brooten, MN. Rodney also lived in Minneapolis,MN, Crystal Lake, IL, Shoreview, MN, Meza, AZ, Sandstone, MN and Maplewood, MN. He graduated from South High school in Minneapolis in 1956. In 1958 he married Karen Yvonne Paulson, and they started a family. They were married 68 years. Rodney was employed at Honeywell for 39 Years where he was among the first to program and design systems for early

computers. He then spent much of his career teaching other people how to program.

One of Rodney’s greatest achievements were developing the timing systems for the Twin Cities’ and Grandma’s Marathons. Rodney was a funny, caring man who loved his family. Some of Rodney’s favorite things were bowling, traveling with his wife, playing with high tech toys, and spending as much time with his grandchildren as he could. When he lived in Sandstone, he was a member of the Lions club.

He is preceded in death by son Rod Torkelson Jr., sister Ina Hernandez (Jesse), and sister Lou Boggs (Bill).

He is survived by his wife Karen Torkelson, son Brian Torkelson (Sharon), daughter Laura Nephew (David), son Steve Torkelson (Sherry), daughter-in-law Kristine Torkelson, 7 Grandchildren, 11 Great Grandchildren, and 1 Great Great Grandchild.

A visitation will be held at Wulff Funeral Home, 1485 White Bear Ave N., St. Paul, MN 55106, on March 11, 2026, at 10:00am, with a service to follow at 11:00 am. Lunch will be served following the service.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the America Heart Association.