May 30—MANTORVILLE — Joel Bigelow created his own way, his son Tony Bigelow said.

"For a kid from a Claremont farm who never graduated from high school, he did pretty good," the eldest Bigelow son, Jeremy Bigelow said.

Joel Bigelow, the Bigelow Homes founder, died following a crash on his motorcycle near Wasioja, Minn., on Friday, May 27, 2022. He was 68.

Bigelow was remembered Monday, May 30, 2022, as a father and grandfather as well an entrepreneur who helped meet the needs of a growing region, and a mentor to many.

"He was a people person. He loved the camaraderie, being with people and learning about people," said Benjamin Bigelow, his youngest son.

His outgoing personality meant that he never left an airplane without the number of a new friends, and the family was always bound to run into to someone they knew on vacation, the siblings, Jeremy Bigelow, Tony Bigelow, Melissa Swarts and Benjamin Bigelow, said.

An avid University of Minnesota Golden Gophers sports fan, especially football and basketball, his dad was an "eternal optimist with every facet of life," Benjamin Bigelow said.

Joel Bigelow began working in the construction industry in 1970. In 1983, Bigelow started his own business in Mantorville — Joel Bigelow and Sons Enterprises — which is now known as Bigelow Homes. The business moved locations twice before settling in Rochester in 2006.

"Joel served the Rochester community for over 30 years, and his impact to the region through the years has been incredibly valuable and appreciated," Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce President Ryan Parsons said in a statement. "As both new and current families of the Rochester region grow and set roots, Joel was there to help them create their dream homes where they can come together to make memories as a family."

Parsons described Bigelow as a "constant contributor to development" in the Rochester region. Along with his team, Bigelow helped meet the demands of the regional growth "through hard work and service, creating homes for many throughout our community."

"Joel's story of entrepreneurship and hard work have impacted so many, and through the team at Bigelow Homes he will continue to impact the region," Parsons said.

Bigelow's entrepreneurial spirit extended beyond Bigelow Homes. In 2003, he led a group of about 50 local investors to buy Olmsted National Bank, now known as just ONB, from an Iowa-based organization. It has two local branches. The bank's main focus is on single-family construction, residential mortgages and business banking. It flourished during the building boom in Rochester and Byron.

Melissa Swarts said her father loved when people came to him needing advice or help to get their start — something he wanted to do more of once he retired.

As the news started to spread of the Bigelow patriarch's passing, the response from the community has shown just how many people Bigelow touched.

"He just could connect, and everyone felt his presence in the room," Swarts said.

In recent years, Bigelow started to transition the company into the hands of his sons, Jeremy and Tony. Both said they felt their father would have never truly retired but that he was easing into working only when he wanted to work.

"For me, I was lucky that my dad was my friend and someone that I worked with and got to see everyday," Jeremy Bigelow said. "He's been talking a lot about preparing for after he was gone and now it came through sooner than we wanted and probably sooner than he wanted."

A visitation from 5:02 to 8:07 p.m. is planned for Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at Community Celebration Church, 27277 County Highway 34 in Kasson. The funeral service will be held the following morning at 11:03 a.m. with a one hour visitation before. The memorial service will also be live-streamed on the Community Celebration Church's Youtube page at

www.youtube.com/c/CommunityCelebrationChurch

.

The time, Bigelow's children said, was in honor of their father's habit of never choosing a round number for a meeting time.

"He always said, 'If you set a meeting time like that, they won't forget that,'" Tony Bigelow said.

Post Bulletin reporter Jeff Kiger contributed to this report.