Jeffrey Peder Gustafson, the founder of Stonewood, passed away this morning after a 9 year battle with Pancreatic cancer. He showed his strength, beating all odds in his long survival. Jeff lost his wife Ethel last November to ALS but continued his fight in spite of his heartbreak.
Jeff was a home builder, first and foremost. He’d built hundreds of homes – no one knows the number. Even he lost track. Most were built in Minneapolis, but some were built in Wisconsin, Madeline island, a hospital in California, and some were imported in containers from Sweden, some were round.
- He was real estate developer developing cardinal creek, Olympic hills, several parts of Edina, and many others…
- He built mutli family housing & apartment buildings…
- He was a restaurateur – with the Hot Fish shops, Plums…
- He was a trout Farm owner & bottled water manufacturer.
- He was a manufacturer of small electric products – outlet strips and outdoor lighting sold at target and walmart.
- He was founder of Aspen Realty which eventually became a part of Edina realty.
- He was owner of an excavation company & an electrical company.
- He had a short stint as owner of a roofing business, as a insurance and annuity broker & even a dishwasher when times were tough.
- He was an amateur, though very accomplished landscaper with expertise in planting trees and moving Hosta.
I just always thought of my dad as an artist. As he took the most pleasure in living out his creativity in whatever he was doing, especially in the homes that he built.
He will be missed dearly, but we find peace in that he is reunited with Ethel, his mother Doris, and Christ Jesus.