Obituaries

Dolores Rose “Lori” McNulty of Ely was born on June 7, 1936 in Ely, Minnesota and on Thursday, June 2, 2022 her soul took flight to the glorious throne of Jesus Christ, through Whose Precious Blood she forever believed in for forgiveness of her of her sins and her Redemption. She trusted in the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her heavenly queen and mother, St. Michael and St Raphael, St. Gabriel, the arch angles, and her guardian angel to help her obtain everlasting life with Jesus our Lord.

Lori is survived by her husband, Charles “Charlie” McNulty; her daughters Maria (Dana Dargontina), Regina (Eric Chilson) and Madonna; her son Brandon Helgerson; her five grandsons, Justin McNulty, Cole and Bryce Longwell, Sean McNulty and Bennett Helgerson, as well as her granddaughter Gianna Dargontina; her sisters Ruth Mahin and Jeannette McManus and brother Raymond Marsnik; and many nieces and nephews.

Geraldine (Syrjanen, Hendrickson) Koski, age 92, of Ely, MN went to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday May 24, 2022 at Ely Bloomenson Hospital in Ely, MN.
She was born on December 16, 1929 to Matt and Ailie (Nevala) Syrjanen in Virginia, MN.
Geraldine is survived by three children, Marty Hendrickson of Aurora, MN, Tami (Craig) Lassi of Babbitt, MN, and Jean (Kevin) Nelson of Babbitt, MN. Eight grandchildren, Amy, Allison, Joe, Isaac, Nickolas, Katie, Curtis and Jordan(Teila). Seven great-grandchildren and brother Raymond Syrjanen.
She is preceded in death by her parents, two husbands Alden Hendrickson and Howard Koski, two sisters Lorraine Bukal and Helia Waisanen, three brothers Walter, Wilbert and Harold Syrjanen, two grandchildren John and Alyssa, one great-grandchild Tracker.
Memorial Service Friday June 3, 2022, with visitation starting at 10 am until the 11 am service at the Ely Gospel Church, 3 E Allaire Street, Ely, MN.

John R. Juranitch, 93, of Ely, a U.S. Army veteran,. passed away on Thursday, May 26, 2022 at home. Family arrangements have been entrusted to Kerntz Funeral Home.

John Sheldon Majerle, lifelong resident of Tower passed away peacefully at home on Saturday May 21, 2022 surrounded by family.
Sheldon was born on July 23, 1947, in Soudan, to Edward F. and Anna Laura (Anderson) Majerle. He was in the graduating class of 1965 and then attended Ely Jr. College. He was employed at the Tower-Soudan School as a dedicated bus driver and maintenance man for 32 years.
Sheldon was an active community member, most notably serving on the Tower City Council. He was a volunteer firefighter for 25 years, and a past President of Old Settlers Association. His passions in life included flying airplanes, training horses, watching local youth sports, and spending time with friends and family.
In his retirement he enjoyed SOS coffee with his cronies, the simple joys of driving around the horn, and happy hour at McKinley Park.

David M. Cherne, 71 of Babbitt, MN passed away Sunday, May 15, 2022 at Ely Bloomenson Hospital after a 7 year battle with lung cancer.
Dave was a lifelong resident of Ely, MN where he lived on the Echo Trail in a beautiful log home he built with his wife of 51 years, the love of his life, Deb (Kainz) Cherne.
He was a Master Plumber/Steamfitter, member of Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 589 for almost 50 years, where he also was a teacher, mentor and MSHA instructor. He was an avid skier, loved to hunt and fish. A proud member of the National Ski Patrol for 25 years at Giants Ridge Ski Resort where he was a trainer and First Responder/CPR instructor. He loved teaching many things to so many people. Always willing to offer his knowledge and help to anyone who needed him. Dave and Deb loved spending as much time as they could at their Aikio Island cabin with their community of close friends.

William "Bill" Palo passed away on Sunday, March 27 at Essentia Health - St Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth at the age of 83. He was born on November 19, 1938 in the Town of White, MN to Frank and Aili Palo.
Bill attended Tower-Soudan High School, graduating in 1956 and spent several years working in the woods, logging, hauling timber and developing skills he would later put to use as a mason and miner. Bill married his wife of 60 years, Genevieve Pirtz, on February 24, 1962. For the majority of his career, Bill worked as a Millright at Reserve Mining and LTV Steel, retiring in May 2002 after nearly 40 years in the mining industry.
A proud veteran, Bill served in the United States Army from 1961-1963, including a tour of duty in Germany. He was also a member of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and the American Legion.

Charles Patrick “Charlie” Kerntz passed away unexpectedly at his White Iron Home on March 3, 2022.
Charlie was born to Charles and Margaret(Hren) Kerntz on March 17, 1949 in Ely, MN. He graduated from Ely High School in 1967.. He worked primarily for Ralph Swanson Construction in Ely. Charlie liked to fish, listen to music and keep up on world events.
Charlie is survived by his niece, Kristin Selander, and nephew, John Germscheid, brother-in-law Maurice Germscheid, numerous first cousins, and partner Marjorie Hible. Charlie was single and had no children. Charlie was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Marjorie Ann (Kerntz) Germscheid.
A private memorial mass will be held in the future at the St. Paul Cathedral in his honor.

Jean Elizabeth (Neururer) Nelson, of Ely, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on Wednesday May 18, 2022. She was born in Federal Dam, Minnesota on March 17th, 1938. Jean and her twin sister, Joan, were the fifth and sixth children of Joseph and Anna Neururer.
She attended school in Federal Dam through the 8th grade and graduated from Boy River High School. She worked as a beautician in Ely where she met her future husband Russel (Ozzie) Nelson. They were married August 5th, 1961 in Federal Dam. Jean lived over 60 years in Ely where she made many great friends.
Jean lived her life volunteering in several different ways. She delivered Meal on Wheels for over 30 years, volunteered on the cemetery clean-up crew, made pasties every month and volunteered at the senior center every day. She loved calling bingo every chance she got!

Charles “Charlie” Patrick Kerntz, 73, of Ely, passed away May 3rd, 2022, after a brief battle with cancer in his home on White Iron Lake.
He was born on March 17th, 1949, to Charles and Margaret Kerntz in Ely, MN. Charlie attended Ely High School and graduated in 1967. He spent his days working for Ralph Swanson Construction, fishing and listening to music on his deck. He met his life partner, Margie, in 1985 and welcomed seven young stepchildren into his life.
Charlie is survived by his partner Margie, stepchildren, cousins, niece and nephew, countless grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his sister Marjorie Ann (Kerntz) Germscheid, stepdaughter Kelly Kowarsch, granddaughter Kirja Mae Kishel, and friend/son-in-law Frank “Nippy” D. Puzel.
A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date.

David M. Cherne, 71 of Babbitt, MN passed away Sunday, May 15, 2022 at Ely Bloomenson Hospital after a 7 year battle with lung cancer.
Dave was a lifelong resident of Ely, MN where he lived on the Echo Trail in a beautiful log home he built with his wife of 51 years, the love of his life, Deb (Kainz) Cherne.
He was a Master Plumber/Steamfitter, member of Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 589 for almost 50 years, where he also was a teacher, mentor and MSHA instructor. He was an avid skier, loved to hunt and fish. A proud member of the National Ski Patrol for 25 years at Giants Ridge Ski Resort where he was a trainer and First Responder/CPR instructor. He loved teaching many things to so many people. Always willing to offer his knowledge and help to anyone who needed him. Dave and Deb loved spending as much time as they could at their Aikio Island cabin with their community of close friends.