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Eugene ‘Gene’ Jensen
Eugene ‘Gene’ Jensen, 64, SERVICES: Funeral 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home in Bemidji, with Kath Molitor officiating. Visitation one hour prior to service. Burial will be in the Greenwood Cemetery, Bemidji. Casket bearers will be Irvin Blom, Jerry Gaslin Jr., Anton Jones, Bill Deitz, Wes Nelson and Jim Langerak. The online guestbook is at www.olsonschwartzfuneralhome.com.
Eugene Everett “Gene’’ Jensen, 64, of Bemidji died Monday, Feb. 27, 2006, at home surrounded by his wife and children.
He was born Sept. 11, 1941, in Albert Lea, Minn., to Mervil and Ella (Larsen) Jensen. When Gene was one year old, his family moved to Bemidji, where he attended school, graduating from high school in 1959. Gene began earning his living driving truck for various businesses in the Bemidji area. In 1966 he moved to the Eveleth area, and he worked in the mines near Aurora/Hoyt Lakes for 31-1/2 years. He met Edna Johnson in Eveleth in 1984, and they were married in Virginia on Dec. 11, 1987. Gene retired from mining in 1998 and moved northwest of Bemidji, where he and Edna lived until the time of his death.
He is survived by his wife, Edna, of Bemidji; mother, Ella, Bemidji; sons Darren Jensen of California and Bryan Jensen of Blackduck, Minn.; daughters Sandy Pikula in Washington and Debbie (Bruce) Jensen of Eveleth; stepchildren, Brad (Cynthia) Hadrava of Eveleth, Charmayne (Jerry Jr.) Gaslin of Hinckley, John (Tina) Rogalski of Hinckley, Sherman (Michelle) Rogalski of Bryant, S.D., and James (Shannon) Rogalski of Delano, Minn.; 23 grandchildren; a brother, Richard (Marcella) Jensen, of Bemidji; sisters, Marvel (Richard) Olson of Bemidji and Jo-Anne (Gilbert) Bahr of Bemidji; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his father; his grandson, James Jr.; and his granddaughter, Heidi.
Pauline E. ‘Polly’ Perkovich
Pauline E. ‘Polly’ Perkovich, 86, SERVICES: Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 4, 2006, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Chisholm, with the Rev. Jon Wild celebrating. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the Mass at the church on Saturday. Spring inurnment will be in Chisholm Cemetery. Arrangements are by Rupp Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Chisholm. To sign the guest book on line and leave a memorial message, go to: www.ruppfuneralhome.com.
Pauline E. “Polly” Perkovich, 86, of Chisholm, died Wednesday, March 1, 2006, at Fairview University Medical Center—Mesabi in Hibbing. She was born Oct. 24, 1919, in Chisholm, to Anton and Lucy (Krasovich) Palcich. She was a 1937 graduate of Chisholm High School and was a lifelong Chisholm resident. Polly was united in marriage on May 26, 1956, in Chisholm to Michael G. Perkovich. She worked as a waitress/bartender for the former Tibroc and also at the Chisholm Servicemen’s Club, as well as being a homemaker. She was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church of Chisholm. Polly was a loving wife and mother.
Survivors include her children, Anna Marie Perkovich of Coon Rapids, Minn., and Michael A. (Karen Nehring) Perkovich of Chisholm; several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Michael G. “Duke” on Nov. 5, 1997; five brothers, Frank, Tony, Joseph, Louis and Edward Palcich.
James J. ‘Jildo’ Bartolus
James J. ‘Jildo’ Bartolus, 89, SERVICES: Arrangements were by Longview Memorial Park Funeral Home, Cemetery & Mausoleum Steele Chapel, Washington. Burial will be held today in Longview, Wash.
James J. “Jildo” Bartolus, 89, of Longview, Wash., died Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006.
He was born Nov. 5, 1916, to Frank and Margaret (Toti) Bartolus in Eveleth, where he also attended school. James served in the U.S. Army during World War II in Europe, the Pacific and the Merchant Marines. He married Hazel Yarno on Nov. 7, 1937, in Deer River, Minn. James worked as a longshoreman in Longview, Wash.
He is survived by sons, Jim Bartolus of Castle Rock, Wash., Frank Bartolus of Longview, Wash., and Terry Bartolus of Ocean Park, Wash.; three grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; sisters, Violet Peterson of Virginia, and Marjorie (Norman) Olson of Eveleth; brother, Elisio (Shirley) Bartolus of Chisholm; sister-in-law, Ardyce Bartolus of Eveleth; brother-in-law, Ed Hoff of Virginia; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Hazel; grandson, Mike; parents; sisters, Frances Draskovich, Rose Petrella, and Ann Hoff; brothers, Nello and Roland Bartolus.
Louis Carl Turk
Louis Carl Turk, 85, SERVICES: Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Aurora, with the Rev. Joseph Thomas as celebrant. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, with recitation of the rosary at 6:30 p.m. in Ziemer-Moeglein-Shatava Funeral Home in Aurora and will continue for one hour prior to Mass at the church Saturday. Burial with military honors by the Aurora/Hoyt Lakes Color Guard will be in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Aurora.
Louis Carl Turk, 85, of Aurora, died Wednesday, March 1, 2006, in the White Community Hospital in Aurora.
He was born May 28, 1920, in Aurora, to Frank and Frances (Orazem) Turk. He attended school in Aurora and later served our country as a World War II Army veteran. Following the military, he married Beatrice Heittola. Louis began working for Lake Mine and transferred to Erie Mining Co. He retired from there in April of 1975 as a mechanic with 30 years of service. On Nov. 14, 1964, he married Betty Jean Noson. Louis was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church and its choir, the Aurora American Legion Post No. 241, and the American Fraternal Union.
Survivors include his wife, Betty Jean; sister, Mary Kucler of Duluth; sister-in-law, Aurora Turk of Aurora; numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; first wife, Beatrice; brothers, Frank, Joseph, John, and Edward; sisters, Frances Bezek, and Jenny Putzel; nephews, Michael McNeely, Donald Putzel, Valentine Bezek, and Karl Turk; niece, Janet Nelson.
Harry A. Brandt
Harry A. Brandt, 97, SERVICES: Visitation will be held from 10 until the 11 a.m. funeral service Monday at Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church in Virginia. The Rev. Darin Elvemo will officiate. A spring inurnment will take place at Greenwood Cemetery in Virginia. Memorials are preferred. Family services provided by Bauman-Cron, a Bauman Family Funeral Home in Virginia. To share a personal remembrance of Harry online, please see: www.baumanfuneralhome.com.
Harry A. Brandt, 97, of Virginia, died Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth.
He was born Nov. 14, 1908, in Eveleth, the son of Henry and Sofia Brandt. On June 16, 1934, he married Margaret Benson. Harry worked for U.S. Steel for 48 years. He was an active member of Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church in Virginia, having served as president of the church council and contributing in various other ways to the church. Harry enjoyed hunting and fishing, and was talented at carpentry and woodcarving.
He is survived by his sister, Ethel Brandt Galloway of South Bend, Ind.; daughter-in-law, Nancy Salmi of Grand Rapids; nieces and nephews, Leota Hanson of Bloomington, Minn., Shirley (Cliff) Henderson of Cook, Kenny Hill of Cook, Chuck (Lucielle) Brandt of Soudan, Jack (Karen) Brandt of Tower, Bruce (Barbara) Brandt of Escondido, Calif., Ed (Connie) Galloway, Robert (Judith) Galloway, Jon “Ole” Galloway, and Patrick “Jake” Galloway, all of South Bend, Ind., Pat C. (Dick) Goter of Apple Valley, Minn., and Dennis W. (Terry) Johnson of Buffalo, N.Y.; and a host of friends.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Margaret on July 8, 2005; his parents; son, Jon Charles; sisters, Hildur Hill and Elsie Desonia; brothers, Axel and Carl; and nephews, Tex Galloway and Carl Raymond Brandt.
Leo Wiljamaa, 93, Leo Wiljamaa, a retired teacher at Mott Community College in Flint, Mich., and member of the Greatest Generation, the name given people of his time, died of natural causes at his home in Minneapolis on Presidents Day, Feb. 20, 2006. He was 93.
Leo Wiljamaa was born in Tower on April 24, 1912, a week or so after the Titanic sank, the son of Finnish immigrants, Nels and Minnie Wiljamaa. Leo spoke Finnish in the home. On his first day of school in 1917, when the teacher found out he could not speak English, she put him in a closet as punishment. With such motivation, Leo was fluent in English by Christmas.
In 1918 Leo contracted Spanish influenza, a disease that killed about 40 million people worldwide including one of his brothers. Leo was sick for a month. When he returned to school, he discovered that his books had been burned to prevent contagion. Leo was one of the last living survivors of the great flu epidemic which was second only to the bubonic plague of the Middle Ages in its death toll.
Leo graduated from Tower High School in 1930 with the highest grades of any boy in his class. Girls were the valedictorian and salutatorian. In 1932 he graduated from Virginia Junior College with an associate’s degree. In 1934 he graduated from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis with a bachelor of science degree in forestry.
After achieving a record score on a civil service test, Leo was hired as a technical forester in charge of work activities by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a government program to provide work during the Great Depression. Leo planted trees and built roads and trails at CCC camps in northern Minnesota and Rhinelander, Wis.
After returning to the University of Minnesota in 1939 to receive teaching credentials in science, Leo worked as a high school teacher of physics, chemistry and biology in the St. Louis County Schools, now District 2142, for several years.
A few months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Leo was drafted into the Army in April 1942 at age 30. Leo took his basic training at Camp Callan in California, then took advanced training in North Carolina and Louisiana. Because of his science teaching background and high Army test scores, Leo was sent to serve in the headquarters section of an anti-aircraft unit to work with radar, then in its infancy.
Leo’s travels in World War II took him to England, North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. His duty was relatively easy because his unit was behind the lines and the Germans were always ahead of him. But in the Battle of Gela during the invasion of Sicily in 1943, a column of German tanks broke through the lines. His unit was scrambled, given rifles with armor-piercing bullets and ordered forward. He arrived at the scene just as naval artillery from ships offshore knocked out the tanks.
Later in the war an occasional German plane bombed Leo’s unit. After his officer was killed, Leo was offered a field commission as a field lieutenant. He did not want to be an officer and turned it down to stay a sergeant. Leo also dealt with the mines and booby traps the Germans left as they retreated. He later said he would always sniff a house before entering. If he smelled cigarettes, he knew Americans had been there and it was safe to enter because Americans had the most tobacco and often smoked. If the house smelled of pasta, Italians had been there and entry was safe because the Italians were not fighting by that time. But if the house smelled of sauerkraut, Germans had been there and he would not enter for fear of mines and booby traps.
Leo did not see many German soldiers until the end of the war when they surrendered in large numbers. Leo also saw the concentration camps. In fact, his unit was ordered to see them.
After World War II Leo went back to the University of Minnesota and had his classes paid for by the GI bill, a program to aid returning veterans. By 1952 he completed the requirements for a master’s degree in educational psychology. During this time Leo got a civil service job as a civilian instructor in electronics for the Air Force at Scott Air Force Base near Belleville, Ill. What he taught was popular because airmen who took his course could put off being sent to fight the Korean War.
After the Korean War Leo returned to teaching high school in various Minnesota towns. He met his wife, Elizabeth Hartig, another teacher at Eagle Bend, Minn. They wed on Labor Day 1954 in Virginia and had three children, Rebecca, David and Daniel.
In 1957 after the Russians launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the earth, the American educational system expanded science education and created a great demand for science teachers. Leo applied for an opening at Flint Junior College, now Mott Community College, in Flint, Mich. Because he had a master’s degree and experience teaching high school students and adults, Leo was offered a job teaching electronics at the college. In 1959 he moved from Richfield, Minn., to Flint.
Leo taught at the college until his retirement in 1977. He then worked as a technician in the college’s electronics lab for an additional nine years. Since he was a teacher and had the summers off, he returned every year to his cottage at “Wiljamaa Village’’ on Lake Vermilion near Tower. He loved picking berries, walking in the woods and visiting. In 1983 Leo fulfilled a life ambition by visiting Finland with his siblings. In Helsinki, he made small talk in Finnish with a local in a park. After an hour the local said, “You have an accent. I’ve been talking to you for an hour and trying to figure out where in Finland you come from.’’ Leo said he was not from Finland but from the United States. The local was surprised because Finnish is notoriously difficult to speak as a second language. Leo said Finnish was his first language and his accent was probably what his parents spoke a hundred years ago.
In 1992 Leo moved to Minneapolis. In 2002 he had his last sauna and his last dip in Lake Vermilion at the age of 90. In September of 2004 he celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary and a family reunion at his place on Lake Vermilion. Leo faced increasing health problems the last two years of his life but was never in a nursing home.
Interment will be in the Tower Cemetery. Memorials can be directed to Finlandia University, formerly Suomi College, in Hancock, Mich., for scholarships or to the Sportsmen’s Club of Lake Vermilion, Cook.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; sons, David and Daniel, of Minneapolis, and daughter, Rebecca, of Flint, Mich. Also surviving are his brother Axel of St. Paul, his brother Arthur and wife Ruth and his sister Esther Beth “Recipe Lady’’ Norha of Virginia; cousins Ellen Anderson and Martha Marttila of Virginia, Connie (husband Reggie) Childs of rural Tower and Bonnie Harma of North Dakota; many nieces and nephews; and first and second cousins in Finland.
Florence M. Tome
Florence M. Tome, 83, SERVICES: Memorial service 10:30 a.m. Monday at Kerntz Bothers Funeral Chapel in Ely. Deacon Greg Hutar will officiate. Burial will be in the Ely Cemetery. Arrangements are by Kerntz Brothers, a Bauman Family Funeral Funeral Home in Ely. To share an online remembrance go to: www.baumanfuneralhome.com.
Florence M. Tome, 83, of Ely died Friday, March 3, 2006, at the Ely Bloomenson Nursing Home.
She was born in the Town of Fall Lake, near Ely, on April 27, 1922, to Joseph Tome and Margaret (Yuzna) Tome.
She is survived by her brothers Joseph (Mary Lou) Tome of Cumberland, Md., and Bernard (Viola) Tome of Plymouth, Minn.; a sister-in-law, Kathy Tome of Ely; uncle and aunt, Sylvester (Florence) Yuzna, of St. Paul; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Reuben Luverne Lenning
Reuben Luverne Lenning, 86, SERVICES: Funeral 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Faith Lutheran Church in Hoyt Lakes, with the Rev. Terrance Stratton officiating. Visitation one hour prior to service at the church. Burial with military honors will be accorded by the Aurora-Hoyt Lakes Color Guard in the Hoyt Lakes Memorial Cemetery. Arrangements are by Ziemer-Moeglein-Shatava Funeral Home in Aurora.
Reuben Luverne Lenning, 86, of Hoyt Lakes died Thursday, March 2, 2006, in the North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji, Minn.
He was born Feb. 27, 1920, in Odin, Minn., to George and Maria (Vareberg) Lenning. He attended country school near Odin and later worked on the family farm. Reuben was a World War II Army veteran and received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. On Jan. 18, 1947, he married Norma Malott in Minneapolis. The couple moved to Hoyt Lakes in 1957, where Reuben worked for the Erie Mining Co. and retired from there as a furnace operator.
He was a member of Faith Lutheran Church, the Timothy Robinson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post and a life member of the Aurora American Legion Post 241. In his earlier years he enjoyed hunting ducks and pheasants and later in life enjoyed fishing, wildlife carvings and spending time with children and grandchildren.
Survivors include his daughters, Jayne Dueffert of Hines, Minn., Kathryn (Jerry) Wegner of New Ulm, Minn., and Rachel Scoville of New Ulm; a son, James Lenning, of Virginia; five grandchildren, Kristina, Sherrilee, Richard, Melissa and Aleesha; and 11 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Norma, in 1996; a brother, Oscar; sisters, Elsie, Gertrude, Gladys and Violet; a grandson, Randy; and sons-in-law, James Stradtman and Duane Dueffert.
Dwayne S. Erickson
Dwayne S. Erickson, 56, SERVICES: Funeral Mass 10 a.m. Monday in Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Hoyt Lakes, with the Rev. David Forsman as celebrant. Visitation 3-5 p.m. Sunday, with recitation of the rosary at 4:30 p.m., in Ziemer-Moeglein-Shatava Funeral Home in Aurora and will continue for one hour prior to service Monday at the church. Burial will be in Hoyt Lakes Memorial Cemetery.
Dwayne S. Erickson, 56, of Hoyt Lakes died Thursday, March 2, 2006, near Spooner, Wis.
He was born Jan. 5, 1950, in Duluth to Darrill Sr. and Elsie (Fralich) Erickson. He was a graduate of Wrenshall High School and began working in the steel industry in Duluth. On Aug. 26, 1972, he married Rita Ebnet in Hoyt Lakes. He transferred to Minntac, and currently worked there as a production truck instructor. Dwayne was a member of Queen of Peace Catholic Church and its choir and the Steelworkers Union and enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.
Survivors include his wife, Rita; children, Sheri Johnson of Cedar Hill, Tenn., Lisa (Rob) Wagner of LaVergne, Tenn., Scott Erickson of Bloomington, Sandra (Kenneth) Goenner of St. Cloud, Daniel (Heather) Erickson of Nashville, Tenn., Timothy Erickson of Nashville, Tenn., Catherine Erickson of Hoyt Lakes and Mary Erickson of Hoyt Lakes; 12 grandchildren; two expected grandchildren; his father, Darrill Erickson Sr., of Holyoke; brothers, Darrill Jr. of Holyoke and Rodney of Holyoke; a sister, Judy Moe, of McGregor; and his mother-in-law, Bernice Ebnet, of Hoyt Lakes.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Elsie; granddaughter, Morgan; and father-in-law, Paul Ebnet.
Lawrence H. Clausen
Lawrence H. Clausen, 83, SERVICES: Funeral 1 p.m. Monday at United in Christ Lutheran Church in Eveleth, with the Rev. Gary Terrio officiating. Visitation one hour prior to service at the church. Burial will be in the Eveleth Cemetery. Arrangements are by Cron-Sheehy Funeral Home in Eveleth. Memorials are preferred to United in Christ Lutheran Church Building Fund or East Range Hospice. To sign the guest book online, go to: www.cron-sheehy.com.
Lawrence Harry Clausen, 83, of rural Eveleth passed away Friday, March 3, 2006, at his home with his family.
He was born in the township of Holway near Medford, Wis., on Aug. 17, 1922, to Lawrence A. and Frances (Duzinski) Clausen. He attended Hillside School in Holway and graduated from the Medford High School in 1940. He worked at Hurd Millwork until entering the service in 1942. While in the service, he served as a ground control approach mechanic on the island of Tinian in the South Pacific. Upon discharge from the service he returned to work at Hurd Millwork.
On Sept. 5, 1946, he married Phyllis Powers. They continued to reside in Medford until 1957, then moved to the Iron Range where he was employed by Erie Mining Co. of Hoyt Lakes. He retired from Erie Mining Co. as an assistant general foreman on Jan. 1, 1983. While living in the Medford area he played baseball for various teams. After retiring, he took up golf and became very enthused with the sport. He and his wife, Phyllis, were longtime members of United in Christ Lutheran Church in Eveleth.
Surviving are his children, Linda (Doug) Mihm and Dennis Clausen of Eveleth, Robert (Jackie) Clausen of Sturgis, S.D., Brian (Sandra) Clausen of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., and Rhonda (Tom) Appicelli of Cherry; a brother, Dr. Allen (Beth) Clausen, of Flagstaff, Ariz.; a brother-in-law, Ervin (Harriet) Hartman, of Altoona, Wis.; grandchildren, Shara (Jim) Miller, Jenny and David Mihm, Robbie, Rickie and Becky Clausen, Nicole, Ryan and Cody Clausen and Tommy and Johannah Appicelli; a great-granddaughter, Natalie Miller; five sisters-in-law, three brothers-in-law and 25 nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Phyllis, on Feb. 8, 2000; and his sisters, Harriet Harman and Wanda Malchow.
