Dr. Richard Sletten, co-founder of Twin Cities Orthopedics, dies at 82

When Dr. Richard Sletten and two other physicians with strong religious beliefs started an orthopedics practice in the late 1960s, they agreed that their annual work schedule would include paid time off to do missionary work overseas.

He chose to do his in Africa, Taiwan and Ecuador, taking one of his five children along on each trip. The kids knew they would see little of Dad once he arrived because he would have scheduled surgeries from sunrise until the generators kicked off in the evening, said his daughter, Elizabeth Sutton of Minnetonka.

"Going on the missions were a real gift to us," she said. "We were assigned to do tasks at the medical stations. I was interested in children, so I helped in the school."

Sletten, who became a co-founder of Twin Cities Orthopedics, the official sports medicine provider for the Minnesota Vikings, suffered a sudden heart attack and died Aug. 13 at his home in North Oaks. He was 82.

"When we were making calls to friends about his death, it was amazing how many people referred to him as their best friend and brother," said Sutton. "With all that was going on in his life, the children never felt a lack of attention. He had a lot of gentleness and humility."

Born in Minneapolis, Sletten graduated from North High School. In a family history, his father, Maurice, wrote that his son held jobs ranging from cooking on a train to ranching. He even learned airplane mechanics at vocational school.

Sletten went on to study at Augsburg College in Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota Medical School. He spent two years in the mid-1960s as a flight surgeon at an air base in South Dakota and attained the rank of captain.

"They always refer to orthopedic surgeons as the carpenters of the surgeon world," said Sutton. "It went along with his love of tinkering and creating. He liked getting into physical work."

Sletten worked at Northwest Orthopedics in Robbinsdale for 30 years, while also performing surgeries at what is now North Memorial Health Hospital and teaching at the U Hospital and Hennepin County Medical Center.

The children knew their father's pager would blow up whenever a helicopter flew by.

"He saw lots of trauma," said his daughter Sandra Sletten Zimmerman, of Chicago. "We were forbidden to ever ride a motorcycle or jump on a trampoline."

Nurses told the family that Sletten was a kind and patient doctor who took a great interest in his patients. He retired in 2000.

Sletten Zimmerman said her father spent his spare time and resources on charity work and community service. He worked with Habitat for Humanity, founded Bible study groups in the Twin Cities and helped start Northern Pines Family Camp. He was board chairman of Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, board chairman of deacons at First Covenant Church in Minneapolis and president of the Minneapolis chapter of the Christian Medical Society.

Sletten was an avid local sports fan, with a passion for skiing, biking and travel. He enjoyed pheasant and turkey hunting, family vacations and spending time at the family cabin at Bay Lake.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara, who died of cancer in 2000. Besides his two daughters, he is survived by his wife, Nancy; son Christopher, of St. Augustine, Fla.; daughters Susan Bridges, of Duluth, and Laura Mortenson, of Vadnais Heights.

A private graveside service will be held Thursday at Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis.

David Chanen • 612-673-4465