Opus Founder Gerald Rauenhorst (1927-2014)

MINNEAPOLIS—Gerald Rauenhorst, founder and chairman of the Opus Group, died April 24 at age 86. Services will be held at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, MN on May 6. Memorials are preferred to the University of St. Thomas’ Opus College of Business, Marquette University’s College of Engineering Opus Scholars program, the Mayo Clinic’s Center on Aging or a charity of the donor’s choice.

The 25-year-old Rauenhorst started his construction business in 1953, operating for the first four years from his family’s 960-square-foot home in the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield, MN. By 1960, Rauenhorst Construction Co. had established itself in the Twin Cities market; by 1965, it had launched what would be its first business park development, Normandale Center Industrial Park in Edina, MN, and changed its name to Rauenhorst Corp.