Victor Wayne Buisman passed away on May 16, 2015. He had been battling two forms of cancer for several years.
He was born to Victor Buisman and Helen Marie Johnson on March 18, 1941, on their family farm near York, North Dakota. He and his family moved to Cando, North Dakota, where he spent his youth and graduated from high school. After high school, he served in the United States Navy. Following his military service, he attended the University of North Dakota where he earned the first of several degrees he earned throughout his life. He then began his thirty year career with the federal government where he worked as a safety and health professional, primarily in the area of nuclear energy. He was a licensed professional in several fields associated with safety and environmental engineering. Throughout the course of his career, he earned degrees from Central Missouri State University and the University of Idaho.
After retiring from the U.S. Department of Energy, he returned to his family's home in Harris, Minnesota. During this period of his life, he worked as an occupational safety instructor at the University of North Dakota and as a safety professional for the Minnesota Department of Corrections. He later served the community of Harris as a city councilman for eight years.
Wayne traveled extensively throughout his life, but had a particular love for his ancestral homelands of Sweden and the Netherlands. During his travels to Scandinavia he extensively researched the genealogy of his ancestors, with whom he always felt a special connection. In order to honor his ancestors who immigrated from Europe to Minnesota and Wisconsin, he would often bury stones from their birthplaces at their final resting places.
Wayne loved music, particularly Elvis Presley and the iconic Swedish band ABBA. He attended the yearly festivities of Elvis Week in Memphis many times over the years, but it was ABBA that held a special place in his heart. He built a museum on his property to display the vast amount of ABBA memorabilia he had acquired over the years. His fandom took center stage when he was featured on a television program called "FanClub" on VH-1 which made him a celebrity in the ABBA community.
He owned two vintage cars which his grandson named Kurty and Fernando. These cars were featured in parades and car shows throughout the midwest.
Above all, Wayne loved his family and friends. His children and grandchildren were truly the loves of his life.
He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers Donald, Roland, and Gerald.
He is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law Allen and Julie, Don and Shandi and Nicholas and Veronica; grandchildren Owen, Annika and Gavin; half-sisters Betty and Dorothy; and many nieces and nephews whom he cared for deeply.
Funeral service 12 p.m. (noon) Friday, May 22, 2015 at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in North Branch, Minnesota with visitation one hour prior to the service at church. Interment at Sunrise Cemetery in Sunrise, Minnesota. Arrangements by the Grandstrand Funeral Home in North Branch, Minnesota. Condolences may be left online at www.grandstrandfh.com.