Obituaries: June 11, 2021

Jean McClelland
Jean McClelland, 96, of Duluth, died on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at Essentia Miller Dwan after a long illness. A memorial service was held on Wednesday, June 9 at Peace United Church of Christ in Duluth. Memorials are preferred and can be directed to the Central Hillside United Ministry (CHUM), 102 W 2nd Street, Duluth, MN 55802 or www.chumduluth.org. Arrangements were by the Cremation Society of Minnesota in Duluth.
Jean was born on June 23, 1924, to Grace and Albert Nau in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Cleveland Heights High School and went on to get a degree in Chemistry from Wooster College in Wooster, Ohio, and an MD degree from Western Reserve Medical School in Cleveland, Ohio. She met her husband, John Gibson “Gib” McClelland in medical school, and they were married on Dec. 17, 1949. When Gib came down with tuberculosis, Jean moved in with her mother and helped her father-in-law with his pediatric practice. She had her first child while Gib was still in the hospital convalescing from tuberculosis. When Gib recovered, they went on to have five more children. Jean stopped her work as a pediatrician and stayed home to raise her children. 
When the youngest children were in junior high school, Jean and Gib volunteered their time in health clinics of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa at Nett Lake and Lake Vermillion. At that time, Jean also began seeing pediatric patients at the East Range Clinic in Virginia. She and Gib retired in 1987 and moved to their cabin on the Pike River Flowage, where they enjoyed canoeing the river and hiking and snowshoeing in the woods. Jean continued to enjoy living on the Pike River Flowage after Gib died on March 6, 2001, but moved to the Primrose Retirement Community in Duluth in 2009 in order to live closer to her children. She made dear friends at Primrose and enjoyed the activities for residents, especially the Book Club and the Pontoon Boat Rides on the St. Louis River. She enjoyed trips up the shore with her children and grandchildren, hikes around Duluth, and visits to her children in California, Idaho, New Mexico and New York. In 2016, Jean donated her cabin and the land on the Pike River Flowage to Big City Mountaineers, a non-profit that takes inner-city youth from Minneapolis into the Boundary Waters.
Jean will be remembered as an active, loving mother and grandmother who loved to use her sewing and needlecraft skills to make gifts for her children and grandchildren. She sewed wedding dresses for her daughters, suit coats for her sons, and mother-of-the-bride dresses for her friends. She knit countless sweaters, mittens, and wool socks for her children and made beautiful cross-stitch samplers that marked the birth of her grandchildren. Most recently her family enjoyed hearing about the latest biography she was reading and talking about the birds that were coming to her feeders and our feeders. She cared deeply about our country and dutifully kept herself abreast of civic problems and the policies being considered to address them. Her last weeks were a struggle through which she remained strong. We are grateful she has been delivered from her suffering.
Jean is survived by her six children, Joan McClelland (Stephen Glick) of White Rock, N.M.; Tom McClelland (Carin) of Northport, N.Y.; Dan McClelland (Irene) of El Cerrito, Calif.; Kevin McClelland (Mary Jo Tomlinson) of Ashland, Wis.; Carol McClelland-Thomas (Greg Thomas) of Eagle, Idaho, and Mary Adams (Jeff) of Duluth; grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Jesse McClelland (Carol Treska) and daughters Charlotte and Ivy of Cleveland, Ohio; Annie McClelland of Louisville, Ky.; Gina Glick of Las Vegas, Nev.; Katie Rowen (Dan) of Chicago, Ill.; Keighry McClelland of Astoria, N.Y.; Sarah Adams of Minneapolis; Matthew Thomas (Ellie) of Boise, Idaho; Laura Joella (Dane) and daughters Charlotte and Violet of Port Washington, N.Y.; Clara Thomas of Boise, Idaho; Parker Adams (Sarah) of Madison Heights, Mich.; and Joe McClelland of Northport, N.Y.

Michelle K. Voll
Michelle “Shelley” Karen Voll, 53, of Soudan, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth. A celebration of life will be held at a later date, and more information will follow. She will be laid to rest next to her father and brother in Owatonna. Arrangements are with Range Funeral Home in Virginia.
She is survived by her husband, Frank Joseph Akins; son, Justin (Dina) of Babbitt; daughters, Allison (Ernest) of Ely and Erica of Soudan; mother, Karen of Ely; brother, Keith of Ely; sister, Nicole of Virginia; grandchildren, Brayden, Ashton, Jazmyne, Hugo, Otto and Lincoln; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Patricia J. Christensen
 Patricia J. “Patty” Christensen, 87, of Hermantown, passed away on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at St. Luke’s Hospital Hospice Unit in Duluth. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 29 at Park Hill Cemetery in Duluth. Memorials are appreciated to Trinity Lutheran Church or St. Luke’s Foundation-Hospice.
 Pat was born on Dec. 17, 1933, in Ely, to Toivo and Lila (Maki) Waisanen and grew up in Embarrass and Vermilion Lake townships. She graduated from Embarrass High School in 1951, and went to St. Luke’s School of Nursing in Duluth, receiving her RN degree in 1954. Pat married Richard “Dick” Christensen in 1956. She worked her entire career at St. Luke’s Hospital and was one of the founding RNs on the St. Luke’s Hospice Unit. Pat was active at Trinity Lutheran Church in Duluth. For 23 years, she volunteered as the secretary of the St. Luke’s School of Nursing Alumni Association. She had many feline companions over the years and loved bird watching.
 Pat is survived by her son, Jeff Christensen of Wascott, Wis.; daughter, Sally Smith of Duluth; sister, Betty Pierce; sister-in-law, JoAnn Christensen; nieces, nephews and cousins; and her cat, Griffin.
 She was preceded in death by her parents; and husband, Dick.

Clifford N. Orcutt
Clifford Norman Orcutt, 83, of Crosby, died on Friday, June 4, 2021, after a short battle with cancer. He passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by his family. Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, June 12 at Koop Funeral Home in Crosby. A celebration of life service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 13 at Koop Funeral Home with visitation from 1 p.m. until the service. Burial will be at Lakewood Cemetery in Deerwood and will be followed by a reception at the Ironton Legion.
He is survived by his children, Kevin (Sally) Orcutt of Babbitt, Kathy (Karl) Littler of Babbitt, Norma (John Luke) Orcutt of St. Cloud, Brian (Rabecca) Orcutt of Babbitt and Pat (Nancy) Orcutt of Babbitt; 14 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; brothers, Willy Banister of Emily, Tim (Diane) Hummel of Ironton, Gene (Ginny) Hummel of Embarrass, Jim (Eva) Orcutt of The Villages, Fla., Phillip Orcutt of Benton, Ill., and James (Linda) Wakefield of Aitken; sister, Helen (Dan) Bean of Mulkeytown, Ill.; fiancée, Marge Horner of Deerwood; and extended family and friends.

Frank M. Jaeger
Frank Mathew Jaeger, 86, of Babbitt, passed away on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at his home. Services were held on Tuesday, June 8 at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Babbitt. Burial was at Argo Cemetery, followed by a celebration of life at the Junction Inn and Suites in Babbitt. Family arrangements were entrusted to Kerntz Funeral Home of Ely.
He is survived by his children, Connie (Curt) Koivisto, Carleen (John) Flint, Mike (Sandy) Jaeger, Jim (Kevin) Jaeger and Mary (Mark) Bodine; daughter-in-law, Theresa Jaeger; 10 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Dirk G. Jochems
Dirk Gijsbert Jochems, 88, passed peacefully away, on his own terms, on Sunday, March 28, 2021. On Saturday, June 5, he took his final pontoon ride on Crane Lake with some of the great, old-time jazz musicians, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller and Jimmy Nune.
He is survived by his children, Peter Jochems (Deborah), Ellen Falcone (Patrick) and Ingrid Holzman (Eric); grandchildren, Kerri Voelker (Philip), Ian Jochems (Erin), Sara Jochems (Kevin Marx), Dirk and Rya Holzman; and great-grandchildren, Samantha and Anderson Voelker, Emery and Tessa Marx.

Steven Nevala and Robert Nevala
Visitation for Steven Nevala and Robert Nevala will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 11 at the Embarrass Town Hall, 7503 Levander Road. A memorial service will follow at noon at the Town Hall. Inurnment in the Embarrass Cemetery will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to Sisu Heritage, Inc., PO Box 71, Embarrass, MN 55732. Family services are provided by Bauman-Cron, a Bauman Family Funeral Home in Virginia.