William "Bill" Ammentorp

William Marston “Bill” Ammentorp, age 89 of Cannon Falls, died at his home on Saturday morning, February 4, 2023.   

Bill was born on August 26, 1933 in Withee, Wisconsin, the only child of Olaf and Marie (Larsen) Ammentorp, and was proud of his Danish heritage. He was born at home on his parents’ dairy farm.  He grew up as a member of the Nazareth Lutheran Church, and graduated from Withee High School. He went on to study at Grandview College in Des Moines. He later graduated from Carleton College in Northfield and the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Policy.  While at Carleton he met Mary Ann, who became his sweetheart and later his wife. 

Most of Bill’s professional career was spent teaching at the University of Minnesota, where he was Professor of Educational Administration until retiring in 2006.  He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at St. Mary’s College in Winona and the Board of Trustees at Shattuck-St. Mary’s High School in Faribault.  He was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and received the Carleton College Distinguished Alumni Award.  

In addition to teaching full time, Bill was devoted to the family farm in Cannon Falls.  He actively farmed until the early 90’s, when most of the tillable land was converted to conservation use.  The farm was always close to Bill’s heart and was the setting for raising his family and entertaining friends.  He was proud of his antique tractor collection, which he celebrated with seven tractor-themed festivals held at the Farm from 2011 to 2018.   

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Mary (Brusenbach); son, Matt and his wife Sandra of Hudson, WI; daughter, Marnie and her husband, Curt Jorenby of Minneapolis; grandchildren, Sarah (Eric) Hedstrand of San Francisco, CA, David Ammentorp of Minneapolis, John Ammentorp of Hudson, WI, Will Jorenby of Seattle, WA, and Ben Jorenby of Cannon Falls; and great grandchildren, Layla and Connor Ammentorp.  He is also survived by beloved cats Crisco, Hans and Siegfried. He was preceded in death by his parents. 

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, February 12 at 2:00pm, with visitation from 1-2pm, at Lundberg Funeral Home, 5839 Hwy 19 Blvd, Cannon Falls.