O.J. Fawcett

O.J. Fawcett, 89 of Minneapolis, formerly Winona, was born in Rochester, Minnesota on February 17, 1936 and moved to Winona in 1937.

O.J. loved the outdoors, with childhood trips to Crane Lake, camping, and many BWCA canoe trips with friends and family as an adult. He also had a strong tie to the Mississippi River, which he lived within a half mile of almost his entire life. He grew up boating, swimming, and waterskiing in the river and later in life watched the barges and river flow past their house just south of Winona. In his final years in Minneapolis, a block from the river, he often walked across the Stone Arch Bridge below St. Anthony Falls.

Survived by sons David (Renee) and Mark, grandchildren Cole, Drew, Raina, Maren, and Owen. Preceded in death by wife Karen, parents Raymond and Ruth, and brothers Mark and Raymond.

O.J. attended Hamline University, served two years in the US Army, and then returned to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota where he received bachelor’s degrees in business administration and Mortuary Science. He joined his parents as a Funeral Director at the Fawcett Funeral Home in 1962 and purchased the corporation with Karen in 1970.

O.J. dedicated his entire career to serving families in the Winona area in their times of loss and grief. He understood and honored the trust that families put in him and treated all with respect and dignity. He also served as President of the Minnesota Funeral Directors Association in 1987 and was deployed with a Federal Disaster Mortuary Response Team in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina.

O.J. met his wife Karen in Minneapolis during their college years, and they moved to Winona in 1962 after they were married. They spent 54 years there, active in their community and raising sons David and Mark. He volunteered for many organizations including Great River Shakespeare Festival, was a Winona Rotary Club member, and in 2006 he and Karen were recognized with the Ben and Adith Miller Community Service Tribute.

In retirement with Karen he traveled, continued to volunteer and serve his community, and built great memories with their children and grandchildren. In 2017, O.J. and Karen moved to Minneapolis to be closer to family. O.J. moved into their apartment in the Mill City District alone when Karen died unexpectedly. Our family is grateful for the final years with him close by in Minneapolis gathering, celebrating, and being together.

The family would like to thank everyone at Abiitan Mill City for their community, support, and care as O.J. made the journey from independent living through memory care. They enriched his life and truly cared about him.

O.J.’s values and legacy live on through his children and grandchildren, and the people he served throughout his life.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Thursday, June 26, 2025, at Fawcett Junker Funeral Home, Winona, with Reverend Linda Helberg officiating. Interment will be at Woodlawn Cemetery, Winona, MN.

Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home.