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Obituaries (08-22-2001)

William James Towers, William James Towers of 4th Street, Proctor, died Mon. Aug. 20, 2001 in a Duluth hospital. He was 89.

He was born in Proctor to William and Ethel Towers. He was a graduate of Proctor High School and married Evelyn “Evie” Studley in 1933 in Superior. He drove school bus in Proctor before joining the DM&IR Railroad as a brakeman in 1941. He retired in 1973 as a conductor, and was a member of the UTU. He was a life member of Proctor Moose Lodge 1302, Euclid Masonic Lodge AM & AF, Scottish Rite Bodies Valley of Duluth, Aad Temple Shrine, and Trinity Episcopal Church in Hermantown (formerly Christ Episcopal Church in Proctor.)

He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother Clayton, and his wife Evie in 1999.

Survivors include daughters Darlene (Earl) Elde of Duluth, Beverly (Marvin) Melanson of Saginaw and Dorothy (Kurt) Besser of Duluth, sons George (Sheila) of Carroll, Iowa and James (Mary) of Proctor, 12 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be Thurs., Aug. 30, from 10 until the 11 a.m. Memorial service in Trinity Episcopal Church, 4903 Maple Grove Rd. Burial will be in Oneota Cemetery. Memorials to Trinity Episcopal Church would be appreciated. Arrangements were made by Bell Brothers Funeral Directors.

Robert Louis Lowe, Robert Louis Lowe, who was raised in Proctor and worked for the DM&IR for 17 years, died Wed., Aug. 15, 2001. He was 66.

Originally of Phillips, Wis., he was a 1968 honor graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and actively practiced for 33 years in Minneapolis.

He was preceded in death by his parents Beatrice and Earl Lowe and a brother Richard.

Survivors include his wife Jean (nee Karppinen), daughters Kathleen (Tim) Heir of Lake Elmo, Minn. and Carolyn (Nathan) Dungan of Minneapolis, five grandchildren, and a brother James (Audrey) Lowe of Ridgefield, Conn.

Interment was in Roselawn Cemetery, Roseville.

Myrtle B. “Myrt” Coughlin, Myrtle B. “Myrt” Coughlin, who had been a Proctor resident for all but five of her 86 years, died Wed., Aug. 15, 2001 in a Duluth hospital.

The Birch Ave. resident was born on Sept. 20, 1914 in Walcott, ND to Carl and Bessie (Helgeson) Johnson. Myrt attended Proctor Schools and was a homemaker. She was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Proctor, and in earlier years, was an avid bowler at Stadium Lanes.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Frank in 1981, and a brother Orville Johnson.

She is survived by sons James J. (Linda) Coughlin of Oak Harbor, Wash., and Thomas M. (Renee) Coughlin of Proctor, daughters Sandra A. (David) VanLoo of Grand Rapids, Mich. and Julie L. (Duane) Stark of Emerado, ND, sisters Alma Fontaine, Gladys Johnson and Ethel Fairbanks, all of Proctor, sister-in-law Anne Johnson of Proctor, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Burial was in Sunrise Memorial Park. If so desired, memorials may be made to Bethlehem Lutheran Church or the American Heart Association. Arrangements were made by Bell Brothers Funeral Directors.

Ray W. Campbell, Ray W. Campbell of So. Pike Lake Road died Sat., Aug. 18, 2001, at his home from cancer. He was 75.

Ray was born Feb. 12, 1926, in Duluth to Everett and Lillybelle (Stuckman) Campbell. He attended Central High School. He was an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, serving as a ball gunner in a B-17. He served 13 months in the occupation forces in Italy at the end of the war.

He married Margaret (Peg) McPhee on Sept. 4, 1954, and they lived at Pike Lake for 46 years. Ray was a journeyman structural ironworker for 40 years, retiring in 1988. He was a member of Local 563 Ironworkers Union and its international affiliate. He worked on many area buildings, the tower farm, and was the erection crew foreman for the Duluth Arena Auditorium (DECC). He worked for Greenland Contractors overseas for three years, building the early warning system towers. He worked on taconite plants, power plants, hospitals, bridges, banks, churches, ore docks and schools all over the Midwest. Ray taught in the apprentice program at DAVTI, now Lake Superior College.

Ray had been a member of the former Sacred Heart Church, and was a charter member and usher at St. Raphael’s Church. Ray built model planes and boats for 67 years. He was a member and president of the Duluth Superior Radio Control Club. He was also a member of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, Minnesota Family Council, and Ray and his wife Peg were volunteers for the Minnesota Pollution Control Lake Monitoring Program at Pike Lake. Ray was a Mr. Fixit and could repair almost anything.

Ray is survived by his wife Peg and their children Lynn (Greg) Bryant of Twig, Lee Campbell of Duluth, Laura (Wayne Berg) Campbell of O’Fallon, Ill., Lance (Cathy) Campbell of Hudson, Wis., Lawrence (Julie) Campbell of Duluth and Libby (Thor) Linnum of Duluth, grandchildren Chad and Katie Bryant, Stacy (Louis) German, Molly, Felicia and Jessica Campbell, Jared Smith, and Ian Campbell Berg, a great-grandson Malik German, and a brother Robert (Nancy) Campbell of Los Gatos, Calif.

A private burial in Forest Hill Cemetery will be held at a later date.

Ignatz “Louie” Wojtysiak, Kenneth (Valerie) Wojtysiak of Proctor is mourning the death of his father, Ignatz “Louie” Wojtysiak of Culver. He died unexpectedly at his home Mon., Aug. 13, 2001. He was 84.

Louie was born in Kettle River on April 21, 1917 to Walter and Josephine (Milczarek) Wojtysiak. He was a World War II Army veteran, serving in the Palau Islands and at Guadalcanal. He attained the rank of staff sergeant in the Medical Corps.

Louie was a member of AARP and a life-member of the Cloquet VFW. He retired from Conwed after 34 years.

He was preceded in death by his son Michael James, an infant son Charles, brothers Joseph, Walter, Anthony and Louie, and his brother-in-law Frank.

Louie is also survived by his wife Mary Elaine, his children Raymond (Jan) of Brooklyn Park, Minn., Rosemary (Larry) Gardner of Washougal, Wash., Edward (Carolyn) of Culver, Stephen (Pam) of Portland, Maine, Margaret Baldwin of Chippewa Falls, Wis., Anne Podgorak of Superior, and Arthur (Cathy) of Cloquet, 24 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, sisters Rose Magdziarz and Martha (Louie) Zuk, sisters-in-law Helen and Iola, nieces, nephews, and other relatives.

Interment was in Industrial Cemetery, Industrial Township. Full military honors were presented by the Combined Honor Guard of Cloquet.

 

 


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