From a young age, John Skogmo had an affinity for finance. Family members recall him reading financial magazines at age 9.
As a teenager, he ran a concession stand in Fergus Falls, Minn., that sold popcorn, cotton candy and caramel apples. He invested the profits in shares of a local bank.
Skogmo, 67, of Minneapolis, died from bladder cancer on April 4, just a few months before his scheduled retirement after 43 years with Wells Fargo and predecessor banks.
He's remembered not just by colleagues in the wealth management division at Wells Fargo, but also at prominent nonprofits ranging from Macalester College in St. Paul to Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis.
"He challenged us to dream big, and yet kept our financial feet on the ground, which is just a tremendous gift," said Kelley Lindquist, the president of Artspace, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit real estate developer where Skogmo served as a board member for about 14 years.
Artspace owns affordable housing projects across the country where artists can live and work. Skogmo was board chair in 2011, when the group opened the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts in Minneapolis.
"He did not have to be gruff or commanding in order to get everyone's respect …" Lindquist said. "He always maintained balance, and listened to everyone's input."
After growing up in Fergus Falls, Skogmo earned his undergraduate degree in 1969 from Macalester, where he studied political science. He earned a degree in 1972 from the University of Minnesota Law School, and took a job in the small legal department at Northwestern National Bank, which eventually became Wells Fargo.
