Nathan Puffer

Age 96 of Oak Park Heights

Nat passed away August 19th 2022 after a brief illness. He was preceded in death by wife, Shirley; sister, Ina Lee; grandsons, Chris and Erik. He is survived by children, Charles DDS (Lana), Matthew MD (Jane MD), Kimberly Anderson- Uzpen MD, and Duncan DDS/OMFS; 12 grandchildren; 9 great grandchildren with 1 more on the way!

Nat grew up during the depression. He met Amelia Earhart as a child which inspired him to become a naval aviator LTJG, finishing his training at the age of 19 at the end of WWII. He married Shirley Plefkey and together they had a beautiful marriage until her death at the age of 92. After the war, Nat graduated first in his class from the U of M in Chemical Engineering in 3 years time. He worked for Dupont and then 3M. He treated us to frequent trips to the Boundary Waters, Florida, flying trips throughout the west, and then skiing trips throughout the west, especially Taos, NM. We even got to skip school! He had a wonderful baritone singing voice and was even our church choir director for a while. He instilled in us a love for music. Upon retirement from 3M he returned to aviation, eventually designing and building the “Cozy”, a futuristic 4 seater homebuilt push-prop airplane. He and Shirley flew all over the US to airshows and had a great time!

We were proud of our dad and he was proud of us!

There will be a private ceremony and then interment with honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.