Janus Arnold Waller

Janus Waller of Clarkfield died on Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at the Clarkfield Care Center at the age of 90.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, August 4, 2017 at Clarkfield Lutheran Church in Clarkfield with Rev. Deborah Nissen officiating.  Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Visitation with family will be held from 4:30-7:00 PM on Thursday, August 3, 2017 at Lynner Funeral Home in Clarkfield.  Visitation will continue one hour prior to services on Friday at the church.

Janus Arnold Waller was born on March 19, 1927 at home in Minnesota Falls Township to Oscar Sr.and Ida (Colston) Waller.  He grew up in the Minnesota Falls Township area.  He served in the United States Navy as a Seaman, First Class during World War II.  Following his discharge from the Navy he attended Dunwoody College in Minneapolis for Carpentry.  He worked in the construction trade for a number of years in the Twin Cities area, working on such projects as the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport and Ridgedale shopping center in Minnetonka.  He also drove lumber truck for Lampert Lumber for a period of time.  Janus married Betty Gottsch on August 31, 1951 in St. Paul.  They had four children; Linda, Nancee, James and Jeffrey.  The family lived in Minnetonka until 1973 and then moved to the Clarkfield area where Janus was a partner with Dale Berg in Waller and Berg Construction.  They did different types of construction with a major part of the business building Chief grain Bins.  Janus retired at the age of 62 and resided in his home until one month ago when he moved to the Clarkfield Care Center.

Janus enjoyed woodworking and could be found building wooden boxes and toys that he would sell at craft sales or give away to family and friends.  He was a member of Clarkfield Lutheran Church and the Hazel Run American Legion Post 559.  Janus had many other hobbies including hunting, fishing, and vegetable gardening.  He was a big game hunter with hunts in Montana for Elk and Mule deer.  When their family was young, a two week family vacation was the routine each summer.  Janus even built a camper for the family trips.  He loved building his own creations of small tractors and trailers for gardening, yard work and of course to give rides to the family, neighbor kids and eventually the grandchildren.  During their 61 years of marriage, he and Betty would enjoy traveling together to all parts of the United States including Hawaii and twice to Alaska.  Alaska was his very favorite trip and he would often mention to family and friends how much he enjoyed visiting there.

Family and friends remember how Janus loved dancing and going to parties.  Betty and Janus would travel around Minnesota and South Dakota to attend dances and Polka Fests.  After Betty died it took awhile before Janus ventured out to dances again.  Most recently, he attended a dance during Memorial Day weekend (2017).  He was also an accomplished accordion player and would play for family and friends.  The residents at Clarkfield Care Center and Valhalla Apartments were just a few people that enjoyed his music.

Janus is survived by his children: Linda (Robert) Cloutier, New Hope, MN, Nancee Waller, Elk River, MN and James (Debra) Waller, Clarkfield; grandchildren: Darrick (Nikki) Waller, Nicholas (Kari) Waller, Jennifer (Bryn) Homuth, Ruth (Kade) Wells, Nathan (Bekah) Waller, Jeff (Addy) Ball, Jeremy Ball, Andrea (Chad) Cloutier Anderson, Melinda (Eric) Cloutier Holm, Robert Nies, John (Renay) Nies, and Steve (Julia) Cloutier; 17 great-grandchildren; brothers: Oscar Waller, Clarkfield and Charles (Lois) Waller, Aberdeen, SD as well as other extended family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Betty in 2012; son, Jeffrey in 2014; siblings: Carroll Waller, Ione Foss, Genevieve Torke, Eloise Ellefson, Harvey Waller and Dwaine Waller. 

 Service Information