GLYNDON, Minn. - Despite his shyness and love for the quiet outdoors, Bud Anstadt left a large, noticeable mark on this Minnesota town.
He was Glyndon's postmaster and a volunteer firefighter. He was the mayor and a city council member. And he was a businessman.
In short, he was the face of Glyndon, population 1,182.
On Sunday, he died at the age of 81, seven months after he and wife, Beverly, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
It was the things Maurice "Bud" Anstadt did outside four walls that defined his life, his family said Thursday at his funeral.
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"He saw his work as a way to help people," said son Tom Anstadt of Fargo. "Our father couldn't walk down the street and pass a stranger without saying hello."
Through public office, the shy, "intensely private man," found a way to make a difference.
"He had the dream and determination to see Glyndon grow and become a better place," said City Clerk David Pederson.
A Glyndon High School graduate, Bud served 32 years as a city council member and mayor, helping develop the baseball program, city water and sewer systems and community center.
Even into retirement, the quiet leader stayed connected to the city, offering his advice.
"It was just part of who my dad was," said son Jeff Anstadt of Dilworth.
In return, family, friends and residents from Glyndon and the surrounding area packed every seat for Bud's funeral service at Glyndon Lutheran Church.
Fire trucks joined the funeral procession, and green balloons shaped like fish - to honor the avid outdoorsman - decorated the church.
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When Bud wasn't mixing with local politics, he loved to golf, hunt, fish and garden. In fact, the apple trees and vegetable garden outside his Glyndon home became legendary.
"He probably had the best and biggest garden in town," Jeff Anstadt said.
His father didn't keep it for himself, though. Instead, he shared rhubarb, squash and other homegrown produce with neighbors and residents.
That's why, this week, the loss of the lifelong Glyndon resident was shared not just among his wife and six children, but the entire city he loved.
The city council even named the neighborhood park after the former leader.
"He believed in civic responsibility, and he just ... had a devotion to the community," Jeff Anstadt said. "It was just innate with my dad."
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead and The Herald are Forum Communications Co. newspapers.
