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Wesley Johnson
FOSTER CITY - Wesley G. Johnson, 73, of Foster City, died Monday, Sept. 29, 2003, at ManorCare Health Services in Kingsford.
He was born May 15, 1930, in Foster City, son of the late Oscar and Anna (Olson) Johnson and had been a resident of the area his entire life. He served as a medic with the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War. Wesley retired after working for Grede Foundry for 28 years. He was a member of the Felch-Breen Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4803. He loved hunting and fishing, driving the back roads and tenting with his dog.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Ken and Oscar Johnson; and a niece and nephew, Nancy and David Johnson.
He is survived by a brother, Herbert (Gladys) Johnson of Foster City; a sister-in-law, Julie Johnson of Virginia; nieces and nephews, Judy (Errol) Silverstone, Gordon (Mary) Johnson, Gary (Faye) Johnson, Dan (Heather) Johnson, Tim (Karen) Johnson, Lois (Calvin) Anderson, Jeanne (Garrie) Gustafson, Linda (Jim) Kovar, Ed (Lilly) Johnson and Larry Johnson; and also by many cousins and friends.
Visitation will be Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mission Covenant Church in Foster City. Funeral services will be Friday at 1 p.m. at the church. Rev. Lloyd Nelson will officiate. Burial will be in Foster City cemetery.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with funeral arrangements.
Vernon Steele
FELCH - Vernon Steele, 61, of Felch, died Monday, Sept. 29, 2003, at his home.
He was born Sept. 10, 1942, in Iron Mountain, son of the late Rudolph and Ingborg (Ingman) Steele. Vernon was a lifelong resident of Felch and graduated from Felch High School in 1960. He was a veteran and served in the U.S. Army in Germany. He married
Mary Ann Forstrom on Nov. 1, 1970, at Zion Lutheran Church in Metropolitan. He worked for the Dickinson County Road Commission for more than 30 years and had also been employed at the Groveland Mine. Vernon was a member of Zion Lutheran Church and the U.P. Whitetails. He had a great love for the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and most of all, camp. The camp will not be the same without him. Vernon loved to tell stories and sometimes was known to even 'stretch the truth' a bit. He loved his cats and enjoyed teasing his nieces and nephews. He loved life and he loved his family.
Vernon is survived by his wife, Mary Ann; two sons, Todd Filback and Craig Steele, both of Felch; a daughter, Theresa Forstrom of Detroit; four grandchildren, Dylan, Heather, Jared and Justin; six brothers, Edward 'Pepper' (Norma) Steele of Kingsford, Duane 'Carty' (Donna) Steele of Vulcan, Dennis (Sandy) Steele of Six Mile Lake, Jerry (Connie) Steele of Escanaba, Roger (Patsy) Steele of Marquette and Larry (Cindy) Steele of Granite Bluff; two sisters, Evelyn (Norman) Verley of Quinnesec and Carol (Mike) Gilligan of Escanaba; a brother-in-law, John Jacklovitz of Vulcan; and many special nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a brother, John Steele, and a sister, Marilyn Jacklovitz.
Visitation will be Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home in Iron Mountain. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Rev. David Anderson will officiate. Burial will be in the Felch cemetery. The Felch-Breen VFW Post will conduct military graveside services.
Pallbearers will be Allan Dixon, Steve Charlevoix, Tom Harteau, Curt Sexton, Bob Massie and Leon Grunlund. Honorary pallbearers are Harold Charlevoix, Allen Johnson, Don Lantz and Hollis Gedvick.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with funeral arrangements.
Beverly Redfern
NIAGARA, Wis. - Beverley Jean Redfern, 80, of 108 Goodreau St., Niagara, Wis., died Sunday, Sept. 28, 2003, at her home.
Beverley was born on March 1, 1923, in Cantrill, Iowa, daughter of the late Orland 'Bum' and Violet (Bjork) Baird. She later moved to Ft. Dodge with her family and graduated from Ft. Dodge High School. She attended Rockford Business College in Rockford, Ill. Beverley married
Don W. Redfern on July 8, 1948, and they enjoyed 48 years together before he died in 1996. She was employed by LaClinica as financial officer in Wautoma, Wis. for many years. After retirement, she began volunteer work with the County Cupboard and the commodities distribution for Waushara County. In 1997, she moved to Niagara to be close to her family. Beverley was a member of the Riverside United Methodist Church in Niagara, past Worthy Matron of the Eastern Star and a member of BPWA. She was the former President of the Elderly Services for Marinette County and was a volunteer at Maryhill Manor. Beverley was an avid Packers fan and a Nascar fanatic. Her family, serving God and serving her community, were the most important things in her life. She will be missed by all who knew her.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Don and a granddaughter, Angela Jean Redfern.
She is survived by two sons, James (Beverly) Redfern of Belvidere, Ill. and Michael (Sam) Redfern of Niagara; a daughter, Patricia (Paul) Steg of Naples, Fla.; six grandchildren, Matthew, Michelle, Crystal, Angela, Jody, and Kathi; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Visitation is scheduled for Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Riverside Methodist Church in Niagara. The funeral service will be at the church on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Pastor Pat Nolet will officiate. Burial will be in the Mt. Zion cemetery in Martinsburg, Iowa.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Riverside Methodist Church.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with funeral arrangements.
Rose Marie Nelson
BREITUNG TOWNSHIP - Rose Marie Nelson, 70, of Breitung Township, died Saturday, Sept. 27, 2003, at her home.
She was born Sept. 13, 1933, in Ubly, lower Michigan, daughter of the late Albert and Anna (Grimski) Peruski. Rose married
Raymond Nelson on April 5, 1952, in Detroit. They moved to the area 21 years ago, coming from Roseville, lower Michigan. Rose was a member of St. Mary and St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Eagles Lady Auxiliary in Roseville. She enjoyed watching game shows, doing crossword puzzles, ceramics, canning the garden vegetables, cooking and bingo. Rose loved taking care of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She will be sadly missed by all who knew her.
She was preceded in death by her son, David Nelson and a brother, Clarence 'Tiny' Peruski.
She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Raymond; a son, Douglas Nelson of Iron Mountain; six grandchildren, Bridget (Randy) Anderson of Iron Mountain, Amy Nelson of MaComb Township; Amber Nelson of Roseville; Donald (Bobby Jo) Nelson of Iron Mountain, Cindy Nelson of Iron Mountain, Douglas Nelson Jr. of Florida; 13 great-grandchildren, Crystal, Kimberly, Hayley, Randi, Danielle, Jonathan, Courtney, McKenzie, Tyler, Justin, Quinn, Hannah, and Danion; a great-great grandchild, Brook, who will be born in December; a sister-in-law, Eleanore Flynn of Iron Mountain; and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Fr. Daniel Zaloga will officiate.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with the funeral arrangements.
Lorraine Mercier
BREITUNG TOWNSHIP - Lorraine T. Mercier, 76, of Breitung Township died Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003, at ManorCare Health Services in Kingsford.
She was born Aug. 3, 1927, daughter of the late Michael and Margaret (Weigel) Holzman. Lorraine married
Adrian Mercier on June 19, 1948. Lorraine and Adrian moved to the area in 1991, coming from Chicago. She was a member of American Martyr's Catholic Church, the American Legion Auxiliary Post 50 and a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1637 in Eagle River. She enjoyed watching television, crossword puzzles and traveling.
Lorraine is survived by her husband Adrian Mercier, three sons, Kenneth (Sheryl) Mercier of Squaw Valley, Calif., Pierre (Lynn) Mercier of Plant City, Fla., and Ronald (Jacqueline) Mercier of Crystal Lake, Ill.; a sister, Margaret Mercier; seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Kingsford Funeral Home. Parish prayers will be at 5 p.m. at the funeral home. Funeral services will be on Monday at 10 a.m. at American Martyr's Church in Kingsford. Fr. Joseph Gouin will offer the Mass of Christian Burial. Burial will be in the Dickinson County Memorial Gardens.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Kingsford with the funeral arrangements.
Darwin Wilson
MERRIMAN - Darwin C. Wilson, 85, of Merriman, entered into the presence of the Lord on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003, at 6:20 p.m. He passed away at home and in the presence of his wife and children.
He was born on Oct. 17, 1916, in the town of Wausaukee, Wis., son of the late Henry and Eva (Cunningham) Wilson. His childhood years were spent in Taylor Rapids, Armstrong Creek and Wausaukee as his family struggled through the Great Depression.
At 12 years-old and with little food for the family to eat, he took his rifle, the clothes on his back, and went to live with his uncle, James Asa Knapp, in the woods. There in a wooden shack, Dad learned to survive on whatever he could shoot and became an excellent marksman. For five years he lived on deer, bear, sourdough, and spring water. He developed a lasting love of everything outdoors, and that love continued all his life, still actively hunting, trapping and fishing until his death. In recent years he was featured on 'Discovering' with Buck LeVasseur.
At age 17, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and wintered at Isle Royal when they opened the island up to public access.
He met Lillie Hansen of Kingsford and knew on their first date that she was the girl he wanted to marry. They began their life together in 1940. He worked on glider production at the Ford Plant in Kingsford and in Detroit as a security guard at the Chrysler Tank Plant. He was called to serve in the U.S. Army and was selected to train as an army medic while at Fort Lewis, Wash..
He worked for 33 years at Dickinson County Hospital as a surgical technician and retired to spend his remaining years ministering at Lake Ellen Bible Camp where he was known as Grandpa Wilson. Dad also worked with youth in our community as an instructor of the National Rifle Association, and with the junior ski-jumping programs. He served as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, and as a leader in the Boy's Christian Service Brigade at Immanuel Baptist Church in Kingsford.
Dad used his last days to share his faith with others and his heart's desire would be that they would meet again and worship together before the Lord.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by two sisters, Neoma (Parson) and Leta Wilson; and a brother, Walter Wilson.
He is survived by his wife, Lillie; five children, Sharon (Richard) Kreider of Iron Mountain, Wayne (Susan) Wilson of Spread Eagle, Wis., Linda (Sheldon) Freeman of Breitung Township, Laurie (Daniel) Miller of Iron Mountain, and Rodd (Doreen) Wilson of Norway; nine grandchildren, Brian (Lisa) Kreider, Jonathan (Lourdes) Kreider, Matthew (Cindy) Kreider, Carissa (Kevin) Schumutzler, Melissa (Chris) Rebman, Christopher (Brenda) Freeman, Jason (Elesha) Freeman, Erik Wilson, and Jeremy Wilson; 14 great-grandchildren; a sister, Elizabeth Vangyseghem; and many nieces, nephews, and special friends.
Visitation was held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home in Iron Mountain. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. today at Immanuel Baptist Church in Kingsford. The Rev, Ron Wolfe will officiate. Burial will be in the Quinnesec cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial will established in his memory at the Lake Ellen Bible Camp.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with the funeral arrangements.
Henning Johnson
IRON MOUNTAIN - Henning V. Johnson, 87, of 706 West C St., Iron Mountain, died Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003, at Dickinson County Memorial Hospital.
Henning was born on Jan. 21, 1916, in Sandpoint, Idaho, son of the late Victor and Sandra (Oman) Johnson. He graduated from Felch High School in 1933. He married
the former Elsie Mackie on Nov. 16, 1939, in Chicago. Henning served as a sergeant with the United States Army Engineers during World War II from 1943-1946. He worked as a carpenter and mill worker for Carpenters Union Local 1027 at O.V. Palmquist in Chicago for 27 years retiring in 1981. He was a member of Our Saviours Lutheran Church and the Uren-Cooper-Johnson American Legion Post 50. Henning enjoyed music, gardening and working outdoors.
He was preceded in death by two brother, Melvin and Alvin, and two sisters, Thyra Johnson and Winifred Eastman.
He is survived by his wife, Elsie; a daughter, Susan Maccoy of Chicago; a sister, Alice Schmieder of Marysville, Wash., and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home in Iron Mountain. Rev. Jerry Christensen will officiate. Burial will be in the Foster City cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial will be established in his memory at Our Saviours Lutheran Church.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home with arrangements.
Francis Ryan
KINGSFORD - Francis 'Fran' H. Ryan, 82, of 605 Bluff St. in Kingsford, died Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003, at Dickinson County Memorial Hospital in Iron Mountain.
Fran was born Nov. 7, 1920, in Grand Rapids, Minn. and has been a lifelong resident of this area. He married
the former Kathy Willing on Oct. 25, 1941, in Kingsford. He worked for Ford Motor Co. and he was the manager of the Iron Mountain-Kingsford Transit Lines. He retired in 1981 after many years with the city of Kingsford. Fran loved traveling and taking care of his cars. He enjoyed bowling, listening to music and was an avid Chicago Cubs fan. He was a member of the First United Presbyterian Church.
Fran was preceded in death by his mother and stepfather, Claude and Clara Hughs; a son, Terry Ryan and a brother, Jack Ryan.
He is survived by his wife, Kathy; two sons, Duane (Debbie) Ryan of Iron Mountain and Randy (Renee) Ryan of Quinnesec; five grandchildren, Lisa (Keith) Baldwin of Kingsford; Darren Ryan of Iron Mountain, Kelly (Kirk) Benjamin of Kingsford, Miranda Ryan of Green Bay, Wis. and Mallory Ryan of Quinnesec; seven great-grandchildren, Brad and Kevyn Ryan, Nathan and Nick Baldwin, Brienna Ryan, and Kameron and Kyle Benjamin.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the First Presbyterian Church in Kingsford. Funeral services will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the church. Rev. Michael March will officiate. Burial will be in the Quinnesec cemetery. A memorial will be established in his memory.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with the funeral arrangements.
A. Earl Plourde
KINGSFORD - A. Earl Plourde, 84, of 137 Lyman St., Kingsford, died Monday, Sept. 22, 2003, at Freeman's Convalescent Home in Kingsford.
He was born on May 15, 1919, in Crystal Falls. He graduated from Iron Mountain High School in 1936; from St. Norbert College in West De Pere, Wis. in economics in 1940; from Officer Candidate School (Corps of Engineers) in Fort Belvoir, Va. in 1943; and Mich Technological University in Houghton with a bachelor of science degree in forestry in 1950.
During World War II, he was assigned to the 1392 Engineer Forestry Co. As a first lieutenant in the European Theater, he supervised the operation of three Army portable sawmills, logging and logging equipment. He also coordinated the production of approximately 50 French civilian sawmills supplying the U.S. Army.
After the war, he worked for the Gibbs City Lumber Co. in Hancock as woods superintendent and assistant mill superintendent and the Ahonen Lumber Co. in Ironwood as woods supervisor. In 1957, the family moved to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho where Earl became the assistant state forester for the Idaho State Forestry Department responsible for the management and the timber sales of 750, 000 acres of state lands in northern Idaho.
In 1959, the family moved to Anchorage, Alaska where Earl became the first Alaska State Forester for the new state. In this new job, he was not only responsible for nearly 105 million acres of public lands, he was also responsible for setting up all the programs for managing the Forestry and Parks and Recreation Departments - branches of the Alaska Division of Lands. To his credit, many of the management procedures that he established are still in operation to this day.
In 1970, the family moved back to Gladstone, where Earl became the director of operations for the Habitant Fence Division of Habitant Shops, Inc. in Bay City, lower Michigan. He was instrumental in instituting better safety procedures and more efficient manufacturing processes.
In 1977, Earl became the executive director of Trees for Tomorrow. He continued in this position until he retired and moved to Kingsford.
Earl's affiliations included: The Society of American Foresters; The American Association for the Advancement of Science (Alaska Division); The Forestry Task Force of the Federal Field Committee for Economic Development; The National Association of State Foresters, The National Conference of State Parks, The National Association of State Park Directors; The American Forestry Association; The Rotary Club, and the Elks Club.
Earl is survived by his wife, Miriam I. (Nicko) Plourde; his daughter, Miriam N. Combs of Seattle, Wash. and grandsons, Shawn and Kiell Plourde of Berkley, lower Michigan.
A memorial will be established in his memory at the Iron Mountain/Kingsford Rotary Club, P.O. Box 82, Iron Mountain, Mich. 49801.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with the funeral arrangements.
