The word “couple” seems inadequate to describe Mary Jane and Basil Wissner. “Doting couple” would be closer, but not quite there. “Soulmates,” maybe? Married for 58 years, the Wissners were known for their community involvement and philanthropy in Eden Prairie, where they lived since the late-1960s. “They were joined at the hip,” says friend Gary Stevens. Mary Jane, he recalls, would admit she was the apple of her father’s eye and even a little bit spoiled before Basil, a Marine lance corporal who grew up in an orphanage, came into her life. Her dad wondered aloud if this new guy…
Author: Mark Weber
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Mark Weber
Mark joined the Eden Prairie News as a reporter in 1979, just five years after its start, and spent the next 34 years in various roles including editor and publisher, as well as general manager of the parent company, Southwest Newspapers. He also published Edible Twin Cities magazine. His encore career was serving the nonprofit Eden Prairie Community Foundation as executive director. Mark is now retired. He and his wife, Roma, have two grown sons and a daughter-in-law, as well as a grandson. They have lived in Eden Prairie since 1984. "I hope the many words I have typed over the years have helped people understand the world around them."
Eden Prairie photographer Kelley Regan has captured beauty. Experience her images here, watery jewels dotting the Eden Prairie landscape. Red Rock Lake hosts a majestic eagle and Trumpeter swans in a calm courtship, and sunset closes in on the wooded banks. There’s evidence year-round, but Autumn is a blunt reminder of Eden Prairie’s natural beauty. The community continues to grow and develop while holding fast to its lakes, hills, prairies, and woodlands. At Bryant Lake we see the power and calm of a windsurfer treading ripples and a lush green overlook with deep blue waters. We are enfolded into a…