John G. Yen

John G. Yen, age 83, of Hastings, passed away peacefully on January 3, 2025.

John was born on January 26, 1941, to Hui-Yuan Yan and Elise Glaser in Berlin, Germany. As a young child, he lived with his family in Taiwan and attended a boarding school where he learned English. In the 1950s, he moved to Minnesota with his mother and sister, settling in St. Cloud, where he later met his wife, Lynn. He was proud to become a US Citizen on November 15, 1961.

He was a member of the Navy Reserves from 1959 to 1963, and later served his country in active duty from 1963 to 1965. He was stationed on the USS Coral Sea, off the coast of Vietnam.

When he was 8 years old, he was given a discarded Brownie camera by a member of the US military, thus starting a love of photography which would define the rest of his life both professionally and personally. Rarely seen without a camera in hand, his entire thirty-year career was spent in commercial photography, rendering professional images of a wide range of products for companies including 3M, Honeywell, and Target, to name a few.

In his spare time, his eye for artistry also never rested, yielding an enormous collection of exquisite moments in time. Rushing rivers, foggy fields, fragile blooms, tiny toads - every image displays his impeccable sense of framing, contrast, balance and focus.

In 1963, he married his partner in life, Lynn (née Angier), and together they created a family they adored. They built their first home in Cottage Grove, MN, in 1970, raising their two children in that community before moving to Hastings in 1988, where they enjoyed many years together until his death.

John was a real life “MacGyver” and will be remembered for his brilliant and creative solutions to everyday problems. He loved time with family, dogs, and ice cream, and his perfect day combined all three. He will be missed.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Hui-Yuan Yan and Elise Glaser.

John is survived by his wife of 62 years, Lynn Yen; daughter, Lisa (Gregory) Walsh; by his son and his family; grandchildren, Jessica (Nick) Varkonyi, Jared (Ashley) Walsh, Rachel (Dan Charleston) Walsh; two great-grandchildren; and by his sister, Ping Yen.

A Celebration of Life for John will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 25, 2025 at Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel in Hastings. Military honors to be provided by Hastings VFW Lyle Russell Post 1210.

Family and friends are cordially invited to a visitation from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Friday, January 24 at the funeral home, and for one hour prior to the service on Saturday.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Arrangements are being completed by Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel of Hastings.