G. Robert Werness tended to the grieving

Werness, a respected funeral director, was founder of Mr. Basketball Minnesota and loved his community.

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: November 6, 2009 - 8:05 PM

G. Robert Werness was the funeral director of choice for many Minnesotans, including Muriel Humphrey, who in 1978 chose him to oversee arrangements for her husband, Hubert H. Humphrey, the former vice president, U.S. senator and Minneapolis mayor.

Over the course of 50 years, Werness handled arrangements for several prominent people in the Twin Cities and earned respect because "he was a good, kind and caring funeral director," said Mike St. Aubin, director of the Washburn-McReavy Werness Brothers Chapel in Bloomington.

He began his career with Werness Brothers Funeral Chapels, a business started by his father and uncle in the 1930s. During his tenure, the business grew to include three metro-area chapels, which were eventually sold and now are owned by Washburn-McReavy. He was a former owner of the Dawn Valley Cemetery in Bloomington, where he designed and built a new funeral chapel.

He was a funeral director for most of his career, but in recent years had handled public relations for Washburn-McReavy.

Werness died of myeloid leukemia on Oct. 30 at the N.C. Little Hospice in Edina. He was 78.

He had an outstanding reputation because "he had compassion for people and the ability to do something for others that nobody else could do for them," said his wife, Shirley, of Bloomington.

Born in Minneapolis, Werness was a star athlete at Washburn High School, where he was on the football, basketball and track teams. He graduated in 1949 and earned a bachelor of science degree at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., and a degree in mortuary science from the University of Minnesota. He served in the Army during the Korean War.

Werness played basketball at Gustavus and later was an assistant to legendary Gusties coach Gus Young. In the 1970s, he founded Mr. Basketball Minnesota, a program he ran for 20 years to honor the state's top prep hoops players.

"He wanted to promote high school basketball and make it a bigger stage for the players and recognize them," said Ken Lien, director and president of Mr. Basketball Minnesota. "He had great vision on how things should be run."

Many of the criteria established by Werness to pick the initial winners are still used today, Lien said.

Werness was an avid golfer who qualified for the U.S. Open in 1970. One of his biggest joys was playing in the 1993 Swedish Champions of Men in Karlstad, Sweden. He finished second in the tournament for men 55 and over, his wife said. He also played in several senior golf tournaments in the United States.

He was an Aquatennial commodore in 1974. He also served as president of the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and the Noon Lions Club, Shirley Werness said. He was a committed member at Transfiguration Lutheran Church in Bloomington, a devoted father and a man with a "spicy personality who enjoyed chatting with people and friendly teasing," she said.

In addition to his wife, Werness is survived by four sons, Taylor of Richfield, Spencer of Burnsville, Craig of Andover and Keith of Farmington; a daughter, Lorrie Oistad of Sartell, Minn.; a stepdaughter, Kathryn Flynn of Bloomington, a stepson, Alan Flynn of Hutto, Texas; a sister, Marilyn Skala of El Dorado, Calif.; 15 grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. today at Transfiguration Lutheran Church, 11000 France Av. S., Bloomington. Visitation will be held two hours before services at the church.

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