Charles Nelson Wiff, 95, of Spring Valley, passed away January 21, 2025, at Regions Hospital, St. Paul, Minnesota, after brief complications brought on by injury. He lived his entire life in Martell Township, Pierce County, Wis.
Born July 14, 1929, to Carl and Jenny Wiff, he was the third of five children.
After attending school in Ellsworth, Wis., he worked on the family farm until his retirement at 67 years of age.
He met his wife of 69 years, Barbara Louise Turner, at a Methodist Youth Fellowship Group. They were married Sept. 3, 1950, at the Hammond Methodist Church. They had three sons: Roger, Maynard, and James.
Charles farmed cattle and crops for many years with his father and uncle before taking over the farm jointly with his brother, Tom. Later, he farmed with his son Roger and nephew Tim and sold Pioneer Seed for several years. He was active in Farm Bureau and served as president for several years.
Charles was an avid fisherman and took yearly trips into Canada to fish with his father and brother. For many years, he would make a spring pilgrimage to Canada after finishing planting the crops. Later in years, he would canoe with Barb into northern Minnesota and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, portaging many times to get back into the best fishing.
Charles built many cedar strip canoes, both for personal and family use. After becoming a member of the Eau Galle/Rush River Sportsmans Club, he continued to help build cedar strip canoes for their auction.
He and Barb canoed rivers in Wisconsin and several rivers in Arkansas, including the White, the Buffalo and the Norfork, including in several river races where they bested rowers decades their junior. They made several trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, both portaging in and flying into the wilderness for camping and fishing expeditions.
In retirement, Charles and his wife traveled all over the United States and Canada by motorhome. The couple made more than 20 trips to Alaska, where they volunteered as camp hosts for the Alaska State Parks System.
Charles was a lifelong parishioner of the New Centerville United Methodist Church. Devout in their faith, he and Barbara volunteered for 10 years with the NOMADS Mission Volunteers program, conducting maintenance, construction projects for churches in the southern U.S. Charles is survived by three sons: Roger (Judith) of Spring Valley, Maynard (Sue) of Naples, Fla., and James (Pamela) of Cologne, Minn.; brother: Tom (Bette); 15 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandson.
He was preceded in death by wife Barb, father Carl, and mother Jenny, as well as sisters Ellen, Susan, and Shirley.
A private service will be held for family, with a celebration of life to follow at a later date.
Keehr Funeral Home, Spring Valley is handling arrangements.