Obituaries

Feb 15, 2011

Linda Bell of Silver City passed away Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at the Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital.

Linda was born in St. Paul, Minnesota to parents John and Jean Bell. She enjoyed using computers, and worked for the State of Minnesota for nearly 30 years. As a child, she often vacationed to the Upper Peninsula, and was...

Feb 8, 2011

John A. Nowicki, Sr., 84, of White Pine, MI passed away February 8, 2011 at Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital.

John was born December 6, 1926 to parents Stanley and Agnes Nowicki in Gaastra, MI. He grew up on the Nowicki farm in Gaastra until joining the Navy at age 17. On May 29, 1948, John married Viola...

Feb 6, 2011

Sharon Jacquelyn (Heikkila) Hoffman, 64, of Royal Oak, Michigan died on Sunday, February 6, 2011 at William Beaumont Hospital.

She was born on May 11, 1946 in Detroit to Jack and Sylvia (Heiti)Heikkila, they then returned to Green where she was raised and became a 1964 graduate of White Pine High School.

A natural...

Feb 3, 2011

Harold H. "Zeke" Basney, Jr. 85 of Rousseau passed away at the Houghton County Medical Facility on Thursday, February 3, 2011.

He was born June 19, 1925 in Mt. Clemens, MI to the late Harold, Sr. & Romilda Basney. After completing high school, Harold served his country during World War II. He served in the Unites...

Jan 30, 2011

Dana Willman Deerwester, 56, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Jan.30, 2011 in White Pine, MI.

Dana was born April 2, 1954 in Portage, Wisconsin to Stephen and Evelyn (Colstad) Deerwester. Dana was an Army Veteran, trained in heavy duty equipment. He liked working in carpentry with his dad, and was a Green Bay Packer fan....

Jan 28, 2011

Thomas B. O'Connell, 59, of Rockland, passed away Friday, January 28, 2011 in Baraga.

He was born on February 16, 1951 to parents Robert and Ann (Miilu) O'Connell. Thomas attended Ontonagon Area High School. On July 14, 1973, he was united in marriage Laurie Pantti. Thomas was a partner with his son, Nick, in their logging...

Jan 26, 2011

John A. Ojala, Jr., 69, of Bruce Crossing, passed away January 26, 2011 at the Tendercare Health Center in Munising.

John was born in Bruce Crossing on June 28, 1941 to parents John Sr. and Elsie (Juntunen) Ojala. He grew up in Bruce Crossing, and was employed as a mechanic at Case Equipment of Milwaukee, Labyak's...

Jan 21, 2011

Debra Tirra Koski, 46, of Wheat Ridge CO, died at home on Friday, January 21, 2011.

She was born May 31, 1964 in Ontonagon to Dale B & Barbara (Perry) Koski. Debra graduated from Escanaba High School in 1982. She attended Bay College and Gogebic Community College for her associate degree.

Debra received her...

Jan 19, 2011

Wayne Erwin Price was born on October 29, 1931 passed away on January 18, 2011 in his son, Joseph's home in Claremont, New Hampshire, where he had been residing.

Wayne grew up in the Elkhart, Indiana area, served in the U.S Army and resided in the Baltimore, Maryland and Chicago, Illinois area before moving to Ontonagon...

Jan 18, 2011

John Albert Banuchie passed away at his home on January 18th, 2011 with his family by his side after a courageous battle with cancer.

John was born July 20th, 1933 and was a life-long resident of Ontonagon, MI. After his military service, he became well-known in the area for his work in the logging industry. Following...

Jan 17, 2011

Gearhardt (Gay) Giesau, 88, a Pearl Harbor survivor who served on one of the most celebrated ships in United States Navy history, died Monday, January 17, 2011 after a short stay at the Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital's long-term care unit.

Giesau, a U.S. Marine gunner, was aboard the USS San Francisco when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor...

Jan 14, 2011

Gordon Dean Ongie passed into the realm of eternal life on January 14, 2011.

Gordon was born on January 21, 1932 Detroit Michigan. He was the son of Ivy Carter Ongie and Clarence Ongie. Gordon was raised primarily in Marquette, Michigan.

He entered the US Navy at the age of 17, choosing to obtain...

Jan 9, 2011

Cindy Kay Miles, 53, of Ontonagon, died Sunday, January 9, of injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident.

She was born July 15, 1957 in Ontonagon to William F. and Margaret Gebeau Miles. Cindy was graduated from Ontonagon Area High School in 1975. She continued her studies at Northern Michigan University.

After working as...

Jan 4, 2011

Elna M. Nikkila, 98, formerly of Mass City, died Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at the Aspirus Ontonagon Long Term Care Unit.

She was born January 31, 1912 in Rockport, Massachusetts, daughter of the late Herman and Ida (Knuutti) Kolari.

On September 29, 1959, Elna was united in Marriage with Matt Nikkila at the Northwest...

Dec 27, 2010

Victor F Keefer 103, long time Ontonagon area educator, died Monday at home in his sleep. For the past many years he has lived with his daughter and son- in law, Jean and Mickey Hegg.

Keefer served the Ontonagon School District for 37 years, first as a teacher and coach, and then as principal and superintendent....

Dec 24, 2010

Robert Hebert, 90, of Ontonagon passed away peacefully December 24, 2010 at Bayside Village in L'Anse.

He was born October 8, 1920 in Ontonagon, the son of the late Charles and Lila (Langille) Hebert. He graduated from the Ontonagon Township High School with the class of 1937. Bob was a veteran of World War II, having...

Dec 18, 2010

Violet Ann Pestka 66 of Ontonagon passed away Saturday, December 18, 2010 at the Westgate Nursing & Rehab Community in Ironwood.

She was born December 29, 1943 to Elmer Marks, Sr. and Elizabeth DeFrancisco. After graduating from Ontonagon High School she married Ronald Pestka.

Violet worked at the Ontonagon paper...

Dec 13, 2010

Hazel Mae (Crittenden) Yaklyvich, 74, of Silver City passed away December 13, 2010, at her home in Silver City.

Hazel was born June 11, 1936 in Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, Canada. She married Gerald Yaklyvich, and together they became the well-known proprietors of the Foothills Restaurant in Silver City for the past 30 years.

Hazel...

Dec 10, 2010

Margaret (Mugs) Molaski passed away quietly on December 10, 2010 at the Aspirus Long Term Care Facility.

She was born Margaret C. Killoran on June 25, 1925 in Fairport, Michigan to parents Earl and Edna Killoran. Margaret grew up in Fairport where her father was a commercial fisherman. Later, the commercial fishing operation was moved to...

Dec 8, 2010

Eleanor Fruik, 99, of Bergland, passed away December 8, 2010 in Wakefield. She was born January 10, 1911 to the late Henry and Maria (Jarvi) Besonen in Oulu, WI.

Eleanor moved to Trout Creek with her 11 siblings as a young child with her parents, she attended local schools and was a waitress and housekeeper.