Obituaries - Jun. 22, 2018

William J. “Bill” Evans

William J. “Bill” Evans went to be with his Lord on Friday, June 15, 2018.Ê He passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at home in Blue Grass, Iowa. He was born on February 26, 1945 in Davenport, Iowa, the son of William “Bill” and Doris (Hart) Evans.

Visitation will be at McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home in Bettendorf on Friday, July 6 from 4 to 7 p.m. The Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, July 7 at 11 a.m. at Blue Grass Presbyterian Church with visitation at 10 a.m. prior to the service.

Bill graduated from Davenport High School in 1963 and from St. Ambrose University in 1967. He married Sherry Blair on November 26, 1965. Bill started his career with International Harvester and then worked for 29 years at John Deere plants including The Foundry, Harvester (East Moline) Works, and lastly at John Deere Davenport Works.

Through the years Bill enjoyed many trips to the Boundary Waters.Ê He enjoyed the time with friends and took 26 trips to the Boundary Waters in total. He also enjoyed running 5Ks, a marathon, and a half triathlon.Ê Biking was also a passion of Bill’s for many years, including his three-wheeled bike which he aquired most recently.

Following his retirement from John Deere in 1996 he founded New Horizons Consulting.Ê Bill and Sherry moved to Minnesota in 1999 and became co-owners in Blair’s Point in Ely.Ê In 2005 Bill became a commissioned lay pastor with the Presbyterian Church.

For seven years Bill was the full time pastor at St. James Presbyterian Church in Tower. He later served for five years as the Chaplain at The Fountains Senior Living Facility in Bettendorf, Iowa. Within his pastoral duties, Bill was honored to officiate many weddings, baptisms and funerals. By founding the non-profit 2nd Chance Crosses, Bill was able to share the love of Christ around the world through the 170,000 small wooden crosses that were the foundation of the ministry. He lived his love of the Lord!

Bill enjoyed serving others and especially enjoyed community leadership opportunities.Ê He served on the board for Skip Along Day Care Center, The International Bear Center, Ely Bloomenson Nursing Home and Clear Water Forest Camp. He was president of the Rotary Club in Ely and served as Vice Moderator of the Presbytery of Northern Waters. Camp Abe Lincoln named Bill the volunteer of the year.

Those left to honor his memory include his wife of fifty-two years, Sherry; his children, Jenny (Anthony) Stohl of Blue Grass, Iowa, Sarah (Jeff) Lewis of Olathe, Kan., Ann (Mike) McCotter of Green Bay, Wis., and Blair (Courtney) Evans of Blue Grass, Iowa; his grandchildren (those who called him “Papa”) Gage McCotter, Erin McCotter, Hannah Lewis, Will Evans and Ben Evans; his siblings Donna (Eugene) Rome of Bettendorf, Iowa, Jack (Sandy) Evans of Donahue, Iowa, Linda (Ed) Held of Waterloo, Iowa, Sara Isaccson of Rogue River, Ore. and Joe Evans of Davenport, Iowa; his brothers-in-law, David Smith of Overland Park, Kan and Chuck (Naomi Behne) Blair of West Des Moines, Iowa; many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, great-great nieces and nephews and many special friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his uncle John Evans, and his sister-in-law Kathy Blair Smith.

Bill especially enjoyed holding church services in natural settings on the beautiful Minnesota Iron Range.Ê In lieu of flowers, the family is honoring his memory with memorial donations to the Blue Grass Presbyterian Church for the Memorial Outdoor Pavilion.Ê Memorials may be sent to Blue Grass Presbyterian ChurchÊ337 W. Lotte St, Blue Grass, IA 52726.

Christie (Lempia) Neale

Christie (Lempia) Neale passed away June 17, 2018 at her home in Gilbert. A private family memorial will be held. Arrangements are with Range Funeral Home in Virginia.

Christie was born August 12, 1961 in Winton to Duane and Dolly (Dargontina) Lempia. She graduated from Tower-Soudan High School and lived in Arkansas for a number of years before returning home to Minnesota. Christie was very kind and considerate. She enjoyed crafts and was always looking for a new craft to try out, she also loved shopping, eating out and playing games on her iPad. She had a love of animals and often volunteered at the Humane Society. She especially loved cats. Sincere thank you to NHS-Northstar Specialized Services for her care.

She is survived by her sisters, Jill (Jim) Berg of Vermilion Lake Township and Debbie Hendricks of Tower; brother, Craig (Shelia) Lempia of Pike Township; and her beloved cat, Sasha. She was preceded in death by her parents, Duane and Dolly Lempia, and her brother-in-law, Ron Hendricks.

John K. Arbogast

John K. Arbogast, 71, of Lake Vermilion and Mesa, Ariz., passed away on May 25, 2018.ÊA memorial service will be held in John’s honor onÊFriday, June 22 at 11:30Êa.m. at Hope Community Presbyterian Church in Virginia, followed by a celebration of life at the Elks Lodge in Virginia.

Born Jan. 25, 1947 in Bloomington, Ill.Ê He was married to Joan C. Rowbottom of Virginia for 52 years.ÊÊHe was a proud member of Local 589.ÊÊLater, he was honored to serve on the Apprentice Committee of his Local.ÊÊOne of John’s greatest joys was coaching Little League and American Legion Baseball.ÊÊWhen John retired, he and Joan split their time between Lake Vermilion and Mesa.Ê In Mesa John became a member of the Elks Lodge and organized the Monday Golf League at The Resort Retirement Community.

John is preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Nina Arbogast and his brother Roger Arbogast of Grand Junction, Colo.ÊÊHe is survived by his wife, Joan; two sons, John W. Arbogast (Mary) of Virginia; Todd M. Arbogast (Christel) of Mesa, Ariz.; four grandchildren, Cory and Amanda Arbogast (Minn.) and Brianna and Emma Arbogast (Ariz.); his brother, Kevin Arbogast and sister Kathi McVern (Rick), both of Grand Junction, Colo. and several nieces and nephews.

George John Luecken

George J. Luecken, 78, of Gheen passed away on Friday, June 15, 2018, at the Cook Hospital.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 19 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Cook. Visitation will be held on Monday, June 18 from 6-8 p.m. with the prayer vigil at 7:30 p.m. at Mlaker Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service at the church. A luncheon in George’s honor will be at St. Mary’s social hall, immediately following the service. He will then be interred in St. Bridget’s Cemetery in Greaney.

George was born in Beaulieu Twp. in Mahnomen County on July 11, 1939, the son of John and Caroline (Brickzin) Luecken. He moved with his family to Linden Grove Twp. in 1950 and has mostly lived in the area since. He married Mary Ann Hoover on May 6, 1961 in St. Paul.

George was a longtime, well known and well liked self-employed logger. He was also dedicated to his farming. George was an avid outdoorsman; enjoying all types of hunting, fishing, 4-wheeling, and anything in the great outdoors.

He had many good times piloting his own plane from the airstrip on his property. He cherished time spent with his grandchildren.

He is survived by his children: Donny (Becky) Luecken and Carol (David) Udovich; five brothers: Robert (Gloria) Luecken, Clarence (Virginia) Luecken, Ronald (Gloria) Luecken, Richard (Jody) Luecken, and Jack (Donna) Luecken; four sisters: Florence Wefel, Mildred (William) Anderson, Janice (Rusty) Wagner and Joann (Ron Plante) Lindholm; four grandchildren: Steven and Derek Udovich, Cassandra Luecken and Michaela Luecken; three great-grandchildren, Danika, Elizabeth, and Jack Udovich; along with numerous nieces, nephews and many friends.

George is preceded in death by his parents; wife Mary Ann in 2008; a son, Christopher in 2006; and a grandson, Jeremy in 2016.

Terrence P. Horrigan M.D.

Terrence P. Horrigan M.D., age 77, passed away June 8, 2018 at his home in Stacy, Minnesota.

As per his wishes, no services will be held. A private burial will take place in Virginia. Cremation Society of Minnesota 612-825-2435

He is survived by his wife of nearly 53 years, Diana, and their three children, Jessica Bittence (J.C.), Brian (Gretchen) and Patrick (Sarah); grandchildren Ethan, Hannah, Levi, Madeline, Noah, Sarah, and Zelodine; and a brother John (Marilyn).

Edward “Eddy” Anthony Tezak Jr.

Edward “Eddy” Anthony Tezak, Jr., 71, of Duluth passed away suddenly in his home on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. A visitation was held on June 13 and 14 in Dougherty Funeral Home Chapel and the Memorial Mass was held on Thursday, June 14 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 2801 E 4th St., Duluth. Military honors were accorded by the Duluth Combined Honor Guard. Inurnment will be in Park Hill Cemetery. Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home.

He was born Jan. 25, 1947 in Duluth to Edward and Christine (Koprivnik) Tezak and was raised in Ely. He was drafted into the US Army and served in the Vietnam Era. He married Linda Johnson July 26, 1967 in Tower. Eddy was employed as an electronic technician with MN Power for 38 years, retiring in 2012.

Eddy was a member of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, American Legion Post #71, IBEW Union and served as the union steward previously. His passion was his family. In his free time he enjoyed fishing and spending time at the cabin on Lake Vermillion with his family and friends.

Eddy was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Patrick and his daughter, Sheila Tezak. Survivors include his wife, Linda; son, James (Tracy) of Duluth; grandchildren, Easton, Breanna and Sydney; great grandchildren, Aidan and Silas; siblings, Kathleen Tezak of Ely; Mary Lou (Charles) Lina of Hibbing; Patricia (Gary) Doyle of Santa Rosa, Calif; Michael (Marla) Tezak of Ely and Monica (Mike) Bonderson of Nashwauk; sisters in-law, Cecelia (Peter) Prijatel and Jeri (Skip) Dickinson; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Dale C. Hegfors

Dale C. Hegfors, 70, of Ely, lost a courageous four-year battle with melanoma. Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 23 at First Presbyterian Church in Ely, with fellowship at 12:30 p.m. and following the service. In lieu of flowers, please support Jeremy Hegfors as he rides to support Minnesota cancer research in Dale’s honor. Go to https://chainbreakerride.org/rider/1144.

He is survived by his siblings, Claire (Chester) Dryke, Lee (Barb) Hegfors and Carrie (Al) Knuutt; nieces, Danielle Dryke and Kim (Ty) Lerum; nephew, Jeremy Hegfors; several cousins; and his really wonderful friends.

Gordon C. Johnson

Gordon Charles Johnson, 82, of Lake Worth, Fla., formerly of Embarrass, passed away on Friday, Dec. 15, 2017, at the Finnish-American Village. Gordon got home for Christmas and received his 2017 Christmas present earlyÉeternal life in Heaven with God and his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A memorial service will be held at the Embarrass Apostolic Lutheran Church, 5103 Hwy. 21, on Saturday, June 23 at noon with a lunch to follow at the Embarrass Town Hall, 7503 Levander Rd.

He is survived by two sisters-in-law; many nieces and nephews; friends of the hiking world; and numerous brothers and sisters in faith.