Duane "DJ" Leonard Fornshell II

Duane L. Fornshell ‘DJ’, 44, of Baxter, MN passed away peacefully on May 29, 2023, after a battle with cancer. A gathering of family and friends will take place from 4-7 pm on Monday, June 5, 2023, at the Brenny Family Funeral Chapel in Baxter, MN.

DJ was born on February 15, 1979, to Pat and Duane Fornshell in Brainerd, MN. As a child, he loved playing baseball. At age 14, he was diagnosed with stage 3B Hodgkins Lymphoma. He fought hard, with 8 months of chemo and 31 days of radiation. Almost 30 years to the date of diagnosis in 1993, he was diagnosed again with a rare form of cancer, Metastatic Peritoneal Mesothelioma. At the time of his diagnosis, DJ was attending classes at NTC to become a medical coder.

DJ is survived by his partner and wife Stephanie Smith-Fornshell, his parents Duane and Pat Fornshell, his grandson Henri Hansen, his brothers Skeeter (Janelle) Carkhuff and Eric Olson (Angie Jacobson), a stepdaughter Alexus (Travis), his half-brothers Jeff (Rhonda) Carkhuff and Brion (Staci) Fornshell.

He is preceded in death by his grandparents and many aunts and uncles.