A 29-year-old Andover man died Nov. 7 after falling from a pedestrian bridge he was working on in St. Louis Park.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said Robert Wilkens, formerly of Coon Rapids, died of multiple blunt force injuries after he fell from the bridge at approximately 2:30 p.m. Nov. 7.
The new bridge spans County Road 25 between Ottawa and Raleigh avenues.
The main bridge contractor is Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc., and the subcontractor for whom Wilkens was working was E & J Rebar, Inc. of Andover.
Wilkens was apparently welding and working on the bolts of a 15-foot stair tower for the bridge before he fell, according to Bob Beckel, regional manager in the Burnsville office for Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is investigating the workplace death and could not comment at this time, communications officer James Honerman said Tuesday.
An E & J Rebar spokesperson said Monday that Wilkens had worked for the company for one year and four months.
Remodeling for work and fun
Wilkens is survived by his wife Dawn, with whom he celebrated his fifth wedding anniversary Oct. 12, and their three-year-old son Parker.
According to Wilkens’ father-in-law Mike Allen of Coon Rapids, Wilkens lost his father Edward Jr. at the age of five because of an accident in Korea.
His father was in the military and Wilkens was born in Korea, but he lived in Coon Rapids most of his life before moving to Andover seven years ago.
Wilkens’ stepfather Mike Garney was also in the military and away from home at times, so when he was not around, Allen said Wilkens was a mentor to his three younger brothers Christopher, Ed and Jeremiah.
“He was a big brother and a mentor,” Allen said. “His mom did an incredible job raising four boys.”
Edward Jr.’s family and friends remained close to the family. Allen said there were over 500 people at the funeral Monday at the Epiphany Catholic Church in Coon Rapids, some of them coming from Edward, Jr.’s hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa.
Wilkens’ personality drew a tremendous network of friends.
“Everybody talks about his smile,” Allen said. “He just had this mischievous grin. He always had a boyish nature.”
Wilkens’ neighbor and friend asked him to work in construction with him when they were 18 years old, and Wilkens has been working in the profession ever since, Allen said.
Wilkens attended Coon Rapids High School and later received his general education development (GED) degree.
In November 2002, he received his journeyman’s license from Anoka Technical College.
As a member of the Ironworkers Union Local 512, Wilkens moved from job site to job site to help with iron work.
Allen said Wilkens worked for a year on the Minneapolis Convention Center renovation project, but he mainly worked on bridges, including many along Highway 101.
On the side, Wilkens loved buying homes with a friend and remodeling them before putting them back on the market. He did a lot of the remodeling work in his Andover home.
“He really had an artistic touch with his drywall,” Allen said.
He also helped Allen remodel the basement of his lake home in Alexandria.
Wilkens’ other hobbies were snowmobiling, hunting and fishing.
Besides his mother, Seri, stepfather, father-in-law, wife, son and three younger brothers, he is also survived by his mother-in-law, Cindy Allen; grandparents, Robert and Mildred Wilkens; sisters-in-law, Jessica Engstrom and Sarah Fletcher; nieces, Andrea and Leah; nephew, Gavin; and many other aunts and uncles. |
