Gene Baldwin

Gene Baldwin, age 83, of Ortonville, MN, passed away on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Ortonville Area Hospital.

Services are currently pending.

Gene Franklin Baldwin was born on September 29, 1942, to Kathryn (Zent) and Virgil Baldwin in Fergus Falls, MN. He grew up in Fergus Falls in the loving home of his mother, Kathryn, and stepfather, Willis Fuder. He attended school until 10th grade.

In 1959, at age 17, he enlisted with the U.S. Navy. He completed basic training in San Diego, CA, and served there for six years. After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy, he moved around the country and worked multiple jobs. In February of 1970, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and served in the Vietnam War, patrolling Vietnamese and Cambodian waters in 1971. He was honorably discharged in February of 1974.

Upon his discharge, he returned to Salem, OR. In 1978, he started trucking up and down the west coast as an over-the-road truck driver.

Gene had an appreciation for vintage cars from the 1950’s. In his younger years, he enjoyed traveling around by car. He especially enjoyed driving the mountains of the west coast and camping in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon.

He left Oregon in 2019, moving back to his hometown, Fergus Falls, for a year. He then moved to Fairway View Neighborhoods in Ortonville, MN, in 2021 where he had resided since.

Gene is survived by his friends and fellow residents at Fairway View Neighborhoods; the amazing Fairway View staff, especially the CNAs and Director of Nursing, Felicia; and cousins: Michael Baldwin and John Baldwin of Minnesota.

He was preceded in death by his father, Virgil Baldwin; mother, Kathryn Fuder; stepfather, Willis Fuder; brother, Donald Baldwin; and sister, Kay Baldwin.