Obituary
Eldon Wallace Oldre
July 31, 1947—January 10, 2021
Since his passing, those who knew or worked for him told us that he was a mentor, visionary, warrior, innovator, entrepreneur. We also referred to him this way: but feel the most fortunate to be able to call him a loving husband, soulmate, father, and grandfather.
Eldon was born in Luverne, MN to Elaine (Burmeister) and Oscar Oldre, moving to a farm in New Hope at the age of 10. After his parents’ divorce, he took on “head of the household” role in his early teens. To supplement family income, he sold many things, everything from custom jewelry to house plaques. Showing leadership skills early, in a summer job he was foreman of a farm crew at age 12. He attended Robbinsdale Cooper High School, where wrestling coach and mentor, John Grygelko, guided him. He was a standout wrestler and football player. Through his mentors, mother, and life experiences, he developed a strong desire to pursue excellence in every endeavor. He innately believed in hard work, persistency, and integrity. Mediocrity was never an option, in himself and others. He became a huge fan of Vince Lombardi’s coaching philosophies, incorporating them in business and personal life.
After a short college stint, Eldon was recruited to Prudential. There, he built a sales division ranked third internationally in over a hundred divisions. In 1974, at age 27, he founded an independent insurance agency, Combined Financial Group, later known as CFG. Recognized as a visionary and leader, he and the agency won awards such as Marketer of Year, and “Great Place to Work.” Sales and marketing were his loves. When he asked his employees what made CFG great, they said it was his leadership, hiring the best, vision, innovation, belief in being the best, use of technology, training investment—all things reflecting his beliefs and principles. He passed on a culture of excellence, taught through “Lombo U”. This culture lives on through the many he mentored, gave opportunities to, and whose lives he impacted. Through his marketing and sales innovations, he grew the agency to the 106th largest in world out of 50,000.
He liked going fast, racing motorcycles in his teens until he ran out of money. He jumped at the chance at age 43 to start dirt track racing, in a 750HP racecar weighing only 2300lbs. That thrill led him to having a charity event where people could drive his race cars for a donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters. His racing ended in 2001 when diagnosed with throat cancer. Facing an uncertain future, he sold the company to Associated Bank in 2003. After he left the business in 2005, he and wife Valerie travelled extensively. They moved to Fort Myers, Florida in 2007, enjoying many motorcycle trips and boat trips with St. Charles Yacht Club friends. He continued his love of speed, honing his driving skills in fast Corvettes at 160 mph-plus speeds, on racetracks at track events. He shared this experience with his sons.
Among his many accomplishments, family was one of the greatest. He was deeply proud of each of his four children, looking for ways to support and help them succeed. He loved his grandchildren, shining in the role of "grandpa"...it brought out his softer side. His grandchildren will have wonderful memories of vacations in Florida together, water fights in the backyard pool, fishing off the dock, and learning how to drive a boat on grandpa's lap. All of us will miss his advice, support, and annual letters of his thoughts.
After a 2-year battle with pancreatic cancer, he succumbed to sepsis and pneumonia, with family by his side. As Vince Lombardi said, “We didn’t lose the game. We ran out of time.” In Eldon’s own words: “I don’t know if it can get any better than the life I had.” He leaves behind his wife and soulmate of 38 years, Valerie (Ahlgren “stick with me babe”); sons Eric, (Lyssa); Vincent (Emily); daughters Elizabeth Junnila (Dr. Brian Junnila) and Christian Ahlgren-Williams; seven grandchildren: Camryn, Audrey, and Emma Junnila; Evan and Kate Oldre (Eric’s); Colton and Caden (Vincent’s); and brothers, Randy (Bonnie); Dallas (Debbie) and Clifford (Carla). A celebration of his life will be held this coming summer.
