Willis Eken, age 79, of Twin Valley, MN died Saturday, May 8, 2010 at the Twin Valley Living Center in Twin Valley.

Willis Ray Eken was born April 12, 1931, the son of Bernhard and Hazel (Hoekstra), in Ada, MN. He grew up on various farms in the Flom, MN and Fossum, MN areas. As a young child he attended both Webster and Four Corners Country Schools near his home and later Twin Valley High School. After graduating in 1949, Willis began farming with his father. On June 20, 1954, he was united in marriage to Betty Lou Skaurud at Zion Lutheran Church in Twin Valley. The couple made their first home in Fossum until 1959 when they moved to the Skaurud farm west of Twin Valley. Together they were blessed with four sons: Loren, Lee, Kyle, and Kent. As a family they farmed together raising livestock and crops. Willis was a great cattleman and had a natural sense with animals.

Their son, Kyle, was a special needs child, and this led Willis and Betty to get involved in a movement to start a special education program for mentally disabled children in our area and a Developmental Activity Center (DAC) for mentally disabled adults. This was the beginning of Willis' political involvement. In 1970, Willis was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. He served for 14 years until 1984. During that time he served as chair of the Education Finance Committee. The last four years he served as the Minnesota House Majority Leader. One of his guiding principles was that all children deserve a chance to develop to their fullest potential. He was passionate about preserving and strengthening the rural Minnesota communities that nurtured him. In 1984, Willis became President of the Minnesota Farmers Union, a position he held for seven years. Upon his retirement, Willis worked for Congressman Collin Peterson serving as an Agriculture Advisor. Due to failing health, he entered the Twin Valley Living Center in 2004 where he had continued to make his home since.

Willis truly considered it an honor to serve the people of rural Minnesota. He cherished his family and loved spending time with his grandchildren. He always took time to share a game or simply play outside with them. Willis also enjoyed the traveling he was able to do, both for work and pleasure trips with his wife. He will be greatly missed by all those he touched.

Willis is survived by his wife of 55 years, Betty of Twin Valley, MN; three sons, Loren (Deb) Eken of Twin Valley, Lee (Kimberly) Eken of Ada, and Kent (Lori) Eken of Twin Valley; a sister, Marjorie Dahl of Battle Lake, MN; sister-in-law, Patricia (Elwin) Rasmussen of Columbus, OH; brother-in-law, Jim (Myrna) Skaurud of Twin Valley, MN; nine grandchildren, Chad (Kjell) Eken, Laura (Blake) Anderson, Mikki Eken, Cale Eken, Katie Eken, Kara Eken, Samuel Eken, Amber Eken, and Adam Eken; one great-granddaughter, Ellie Eken; and several cousins, nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his son, Kyle; two infant brothers and a brother-in-law, Ray Dahl.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, May 18, 2010, at Zion Lutheran Church in Twin Valley. Visitation will be held at the Anderson Funeral Home in Twin Valley from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm, on Monday, May 17th with a Prayer Service beginning at 6:30 pm. Visitation will also be held at the church one hour prior to the funeral on Tuesday. Officiating will be Pastor Charles Bade with Danette Gwin serving as organist and Karen Bergstrom and Mark Habedank serving as vocalists. Pallbearers will be Dennis Hoekstra, John Hoekstra, Robert Hoekstra, Clayton Skaurud, Don Skaurud, Fred Skaurud, Dennis Forsell, Joe Graba, Carl Johnson, Neil Haugrud, Glen Anderson, Curtis Berg, Henry Aaby, Jr. and David Grant. Honorary pallbearers will be all of his grandchildren.

Interment will be in Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Twin Valley.