Stuart Reynold Boelter, age 80, of Cohasset died on Sunday, July 16, 2023 while in Michigan, on his way to Ontario for a vacation with family members.

Stuart was known for many things, such as his generous spirit; a great smile that lit up the room; his deep, rumbling, infectious laugh; an always-positive attitude; and his love of Fox News. However, arguably his most notable trait was his ability to tell insightful and downright funny stories. For those who were lucky enough to know him, you would likely have heard him say, "I probably already told you this, but…" right before he launched into one of his many tales.

Many of those stories revolved around his upbringing. He was born in Crookston, Minn., on April 29, 1943, to Ralph and Shirley (Olson) Boelter. He was the youngest of three children. His parents both passed while he was very young, so he spent most of his youth living either in Tennessee with his sister and her family or in Fertile, MN, with his aunt and uncle. The most entertaining of the stories he would tell were the ones about this time in his life, and they always involved some sort of shenanigans with his friends/relatives.

He also loved to talk about meeting the love of his life, Eileen.  They met while attending high school at the Northwest School of Agriculture on the University of Minnesota-Crookston campus.  He liked to say that she chased him until he caught her. They were married on August 28, 1962, in Tabor, MN, and started their family shortly thereafter.  Through the next nearly 61 years of marriage, he gained many more stories to add to his collection, and the way he told them, he never won an argument.

Other Stuart stories were focused on his professional life and his hobbies. He had many jobs in his life, including drive-through restaurant manager, sugar beet farmer, and Cattle Artificial Insemination Technician. However, for most of his professional career, Stuart worked as a mechanical engineer after pursuing a degree at the University of North Dakota. He became one of the original engineers at Arctic Cat in Thief River Falls. In 1978, he moved his family to Brainerd when Arctic Cat acquired Scorpion in Crosby. It was in Brainerd that he began designing the original Track Truck and Posi-Track vehicles for ASV.  Manufacturing started in Marcel, and in 1985, Stuart moved his family to Grand Rapids. In terms of hobbies, Stuart loved hunting, fishing, reading, and debating politics with anyone within earshot (luckily, according to him, in these situations he never lost an argument!)

Since retiring, Stuart and Eileen have spent their summers on Lake of the Woods. He was an active member of St. Augustine Catholic Church for over 30 years.

But what Stuart was most fond of discussing was his family. He and Eileen raised 7 children: Scott Boelter, of Myrtle Beach, SC; Mike and Susie (Novak) Boelter, of Tabor, MN; Patti and Larry Hansen, of Moorhead; Valeri and Dennis Diller, of Merrifield, MN; Bruce and Angie (Weber) Boelter, of Rosemount; Chris and Wendy (Seickert) Boelter, of Crosslake; and Shelli and Jared Daigle of Milwaukee. He was also a proud grandfather to Nathan (Samantha) Hansen, Dylan (Carissa) Hansen, Colton Hansen, Morgan (Chris) Harlicker, Kati Hanson, Soni Hanson (Quinn VanGordon), Toni (Andrew) Jedlenski, Hayden Boelter, Darby Boelter, Milo Daigle, Easton Daigle, Gary (Sunshine) Mosher, and Morgan Diller.  He was also a great-grandfather to Robbie, Axton, Danielle, August, Brady, Joby, Chandlier, Izabell, Abel, Jonah, Myla, Ava, Jace, and Reed.

In short, Stuart was beloved by all those who knew him, and he will be dearly missed. However, his family knows that he is happily reunited in Heaven with his mother and father; his sister, Vivienne; his brother, Marlyn; and his great-grandson, Connor DeRosier; all of whom preceded him in death.

A visitation with reviewal will be held at St. Augustine's Catholic Church in Cohasset, Minnesota on Sunday, July 23, 2023 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM with a Evening Prayers and a Time of Remembrance beginning at 5:00 PM.   Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Monday, July 24, 2023 at St. Augustine's Catholic Church  with visitation beginning at 10:00 AM until the time of Mass.  Stuart will be laid to rest on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 11:00 AM in the Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery in Tabor, Minnesota.