Lynn Warren Tjaden was born in Minneapolis, MN on January 6, 1948, and was adopted through the Lutheran Social Services by Roy and Edna (Moen) Tjaden of Brandt, SD in May 1948. He was baptized, confirmed and was a member of the Highland Lutheran Church in Brandt. He attended Willow Row Country School for eight years and graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1966. Lynn was a member of FFA and received The Star Farmer Award in 1966-67 and served as State FFA Vice-President during that time. His sales career began with Sokota Seeds in Brookings at the age of 12.
He attended SDSU and graduated in 1971 with a B.S. in Ag-Business. Lynn joined the ROTC Program at SDSU and completed his basic training in Ft. Riley, Kansas then going on to school at Ft. Sill, OK. With the Vietnam War coming to an end he was discharged in July of 1971. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion where he held memberships in Gary, SD and Dawson, MN.
Lynn married Pam Joens on August 28, 1971 in Clear Lake, SD. To this union two sons were born, Shannon Roy and Nathan Lynn. They lived in Pierre, SD while he was employed at the FHA Office there. In 1972 Lynn returned to Clear Lake to work at the Deuel County National Bank until 1986. In 1986 he started the Watertown Auction Co. and continued there until 1995. Lynn operated Farm & Ranch Equipment in Dawson, MN until 2005. Most recently he was employed by Terpstra Equipment in Pipestone, MN.
Lynn was an Auctioneer for many years and had well over 3,000 sales. He first worked with Harold Wright and Todd White. The majority of his sales were with John Swenson, Clem Regnier, Orville Wollum and Merlyn Siegfried. During his career he worked with over 40 auctioneers and a great joy was being able to auctioneer with his son Nathan, and see his son Shannon receive his Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. In recent years he enjoyed attending his grandsons’ many activities.
Lynn was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003, Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2014 and
Large Cell Neuroendocrine Cancer in February 2017. He passed away on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD at the age of 69 years, 2 months and 15 days. Funeral Services were held on March 21, 2017 at Highland Lutheran Church, Brandt, SD. On-line condolences may be left at the Houseman Funeral Home website.
Lynn is survived by his son, Shannon (Tammy) Tjaden, Dell Rapids, SD, grandsons, Tyler and Tad, and his son Nathan Tjaden, Brandt, SD; and longtime friends, Bob Sik and Connie Winter. He is preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Edna Tjaden; and sister, Janice Colleen.