Former Crookston Mayor Dave Genereux passed away on Tuesday, July 2. David grew up in a family of 19 children near Terrebonne, Minnesota and he graduated from the University of Minnesota Crookston in 1980 and North Dakota State University in 1982. He started working for Centrol Ag Consultants of Twin Valley in 1983.
Genereux served as Crookston Mayor for eight years and served as a city councilman for over 17 years. He was first elected to the Crookston City Council in 1988 and he served on numerous committees over the years, including the New Arena Advisory committee.
Genereux was thought of highly by everyone he worked with on the council, media and in the ag community as he worked for Centrol Ag Consulting where he was responsible for crop monitoring, soil testing, crop planning and providing technical service for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He was a consultant for the Crookston area, including Euclid, Climax, Warren, Angus, Gentilly, Fisher, Beltrami, Red Lake Falls, and Dorthy. David was named 2010 Consultant of the Year by the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants.
He was married to Linnea and they had four children.
Comments from current and former Crookston City Council members and staff:
Guy Martin, Mayor of Crookston
“When we first met, we were both elected to the council pretty young,” said Martin. “We were on the council for eight years together. I took some time off, came back, was elected on the council again and Dave was the mayor. We always saw eye to eye. We got along because I think we thought a lot alike. Last winter before I took office we had a great conversation and Dave gave me a lot of encouragement. I think he’ll be missed by the whole community and Centrol. I just found out about it not to long ago. It’s hard to process. He was a great public servant, tireless public servant who gave and gave and gave. I’m thinking it was for like 30 years he was around the council or mayor so he will be missed.”
Tom Vedbraaten, Crookston City Councilman
“I worked with Dave for quite a few years,” said Vedbraaten. “He was both on the council, and then he was our mayor. Just a highly respected man as far as I was concerned. He was dedicated to the city and if you knew you had any problem he was always willing to help, concerned about everybody’s wellbeing. You couldn’t ask for a nicer man. One of the so-called good one. It was quite a shock when I heard that he had passed away. He’s going to be very missed.”
Pat Kelly, Director of Public Works
“Dave was on the council when I first started here in 1991, so it’s been quite a while,” said Kelly. “He served on the council for a number of years until he became mayor and I think he was mayor for three terms if I remember right. The one thing I always knew about Dave was he was very thoughtful in his decisions. He didn’t make any rash, off the cuff things. He gathered everybody’s opinion before he made his decision. He was a very calm, very rational man. I enjoyed working with Dave. He was quiet but had a dry sense of humor. I thought he did an excellent job as both a council member and the mayor for the community. I’m sad to hear of the loss of Dave.”
Wayne Melbye, former Crookston City Councilman, and Mayor
“That’s quite a shock,” said Melbye. “Dave was always a good guy, cordial. I worked with him many years on the council with both of us as alderpeople and then with him as the mayor. Dave was always a square, fair shooter. There were times we were on different sides of the coin, but we always seemed to sit down and talk it over. Between the two of us, and everybody on the council, as a matter of fact, we had the betterment of Crookston in mind. Dave was thorough. He liked to make sure things were done properly. One of the big projects was when the CSC was put together with the help of the State through the flood money. He was in charge, made sure there were committees, and made sure it got done. As you see, it’s a great project. He worked on the flood project itself and got the maps completed. He was the referee for some of the conflicts for residents in town. He was always a gentleman about listening, caring, and making sure everyone got a fair shake.”
OBITUARY
David Wayne Genereux, 63 of Crookston, passed away unexpectedly on July 2, 2019. He was the 11th of 19 children born to George Genereux and Juliette (Arel) Genereux on November 27, 1955 in Crookston, Minnesota. David grew up in Terrebonne, Minnesota, on the family farm. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Terrebonne. He attended Mentor Public School graduating in 1974. David was in the U.S. Army. He served as a Military Police Officer in Germany. He was honorably discharged in 1980. After serving in the Army, he went to the University of Minnesota, Crookston, graduating in 1980 and continued his education through North Dakota State University, where he graduated in 1982. While attending UMC, David met Linnea Cooley and the two eventually married in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Grand Forks, North Dakota, on June 6, 1981. The couple were blessed with four wonderful children. The family has lived in Crookston for the last 36 years.
David started working for Centrol Ag Consulting of Twin Valley in 1983 as an Agronomist. He was responsible for crop planning, crop monitoring, soil sampling, soil fertility management, and precision agriculture. David was often on his computer finalizing paper work for his growers. He did this all to best serve his customers. He was a consultant for the Crookston area, including Euclid, Climax, Warren, Angus, Gentilly, Fisher, Beltrami, Red Lake Falls, and Dorothy.
David served as Crookston Mayor for eight years and served as a city councilman for over 19 years. He was first elected to the Crookston City Council in 1988 and served on numerous committees over the years. He was proud of his time on the city council, especially getting funds for flood protection and the arena.
Faith was important to David; he felt incredibly blessed by God. He was a member of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception where he served as a Eucharistic minister, usher and was a Knight of Columbus. David was also involved with Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Minnesota Agriculture & Rural Leadership, National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants, and numerous community committees. He received many Centrol awards; was awarded the 2009 UMC Outstanding Alumni Award; and in 2010 he was named Consultant of the Year by the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants.
David was very generous, he enjoyed giving back and helping others. He had a dry sense of humor that took people awhile to figure out. David loved spending time with family. He enjoyed Tuesday date nights with his grandkids that included dinner, baths, movies, play time, and the ultimate snack- Genereux homemade popcorn. He loved picking out the Christmas tree with each grandchild at Parnow’s Tree Farm. He frequently volunteered to take a nap with the grandkids in his lazy boy. He enjoyed seeing Stephanie and her boys stop by almost daily during the summer as they always wanted to see Grandpa and Mormor. Some of David’s best times were fishing with Linnea and the boys; deer hunting with the boys, his brothers, and nephews with the annual planning meeting at his house; going on hunting adventures with Rick Besmehn and RC (Dave’s father-in-law) in Montana and adventures driving home from Alaska with Rick. He really loved his sports, especially football, wrestling and basketball. He spent many years helping with the high school football chain gang. Dave always wanted to be a “snowbird” and it became a reality in Mesa, Arizona, for the past five years. While there, he enjoyed looking at mountains, riding bike and walking around the neighborhood. He also enjoyed gardening, mowing the grass (because it meant his busy work season was slowing down), and playing cards.
David is survived by his loving wife, Linnea; children, Nicholas and Katrina (Crookston); Matthew and fiancé, Amber Edblom (Gentilly, MN); Stephanie and Levi Webster (Crookston); Benjamin (Crookston); grandchildren, Layla and George Genereux; Jackson, James and Jeremiah Webster; siblings, JoAnn Berg, Charles (Evy), Andrea (Van) Kalinoski, Francis (Louise), Steve (Barb), Kermit (Peggy), Robert, Katherine Giannonatti, Jeff (Donna), Richard (Teresa), Linette (Kevin) Koralewski, Doria (Les) Knaack, and Gabriel (Nicole Sperling) ; brothers and sisters-in-laws; Rick and Sandi Besmehn, Steve and Trish Cooley, Daniel and Michelle Cooley, James and Lynn Cooley, and Janice and Chris Cox; many nieces, nephews, grand nieces, and grand nephews, cousins, and friends.
David was preceded in death by: his parents, George and Juliette; father and mother-in-law Robert & Alice; siblings, Veronica, Linda, Mary, George Jr., Duane, and brother-in-law Kirk.
In Lieu of flowers, send memorials to the Cathedral Elementary School – 702 Summit Ave Crookston.
