Mark Sederquist, Jr.

Mark Willard Sederquist, Jr., passed away at the age of 92 on January 19, 2026, at Elim Meadows in Milaca, Minnesota.

Mark was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 13, 1933, to Mark and Helen Sederquist. He was baptized at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church. He grew up with his sister, Marian, on the family farm south of Foreston, Minnesota. Mark went to District 6 country school until the 9th grade, when he began attending Milaca High School. There, Mark played football, basketball, and baseball. In his junior year, he met the love of his life, Catherine Dahlstrom, and they were engaged two years later. Mark graduated from Milaca High School in 1951.

Mark briefly attended the University of Minnesota, but then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and became a flight instructor at Goodfellow Air Base in San Angelo, Texas. In 1954, he married Catherine and 2 years later their first child, Karen, was born. In 1958, Mark was reassigned to the Strategic Air Command in Topeka, Kansas where Mark Allen (Bud) was born. After a short stint in Mountain Home, Idaho, Mark was honorably discharged. He and his family returned to Minnesota where Mark helped on the family farm while pursuing an undergraduate degree at St. Cloud State College. Their third child, David, was born in Milaca, Minnesota in 1960. Upon graduation in 1963, Mark took a position with the Mille Lacs County Welfare Department.

In the fall of 1966, the family moved to Bagley, Minnesota, where Mark was hired as a History/Social Studies teacher at Bagley High School. While there, Mark obtained his Master’s Degree. Mark taught for 27 years in Bagley, retiring with Catherine in 1993. Together, they spent the next 25 years enjoying their family, grandkids, friends, motorhome, winters in Texas, fishing trips, and their 36 acre “slice of heaven” north of Bagley.

In 2018, they sold their beloved home of nearly 50 years and moved to Country Meadows Assisted Living in Milaca, Minnesota, where they could be closer to their children, Mark’s sister, Catherine’s sister, nieces and nephews, and old friends. In need of greater care, in 2025 Mark and Catherine moved into a room together in the adjoining Elim Meadows Nursing home. There, they celebrated 71 years of marriage on December 20, 2025.

Throughout his life, Mark was often thought of as a “gentle giant” as he loved little kids and dogs. As a teacher, he gave his teenage students “college-level” lectures, but they were mostly interested in his colorful stories and endearing ways. He was a proud booster of Bagley High athletics, becoming a public address announcer for the wrestling and basketball teams. He also earned his Minnesota State High School League refereeing certification in both wrestling and football. He loved to fish, hunt, walk in the woods, camp, and he could talk for hours about American history, his gun collection, or his array of old outboard motors. But, most of all, Mark loved having his children and grandchildren “come home” for the holidays and for weekend visits. During those special times, their rambler was filled with laughter, lively debates, the smell of good food, and the warmth of the downstairs woodstove. In the summer, the backyard deck was the place to have a cool drink and catch up on each other’s latest adventures.

Mark is survived by his wife, Catherine; children, Karen Linder, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bud (Paola) Sederquist, Avon, Montana, and David (Jane) Sederquist, Moorhead, Minnesota; grandchildren, Derek (Britta) Haukebo, Maren (Nate) Trisko, Haven (Gib) McIntosh, Tom (Turi) Sederquist, Dan (Savannah) Sederquist, Ryan (Christie) Sederquist, and Robin Littlewolf; great-grandchildren, Cooper Haukebo, Wesley and Benjamin McIntosh, Emma Trisko, Dorothy, Evangeline, Juniper, and Penelope Sederquist, and Novi, Ella, and Hugo Sederquist; sister, Marian Peterson; brother- and sister-in-law, Jerry and Nancy Swanson, brother-in-law, Jim Bemis, and many wonderful nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Mark and Helen Sederquist; father- and mother-in-law, Hugo and Hortense Dahlstrom; brother-in-law, Dennis Peterson, and sister-in-law, Esther Bemis.

A memorial service is being planned for later this spring. Those who wish to remember Mark in a special way may make gifts in his memory to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, the Alzheimer’s Association, Clearwater County Historical Society, Mille Lacs County Historical Society, or your local hospice organization.