Obituaries

Barbara Gail (Lundeen) Prochnio, 70, of Wheat Ridge, Colorado was born in Ely, Minnesota on September 15, 1944 and passed away on February 17, 2015. She was elected Ely Snow Queen in 1962
Barbara is survived by her loving husband of 45 years, Joachim Prochnio, Wheat Ridge, CO; her son Kirk (Kimberly) Prochnio, Wheat Ridge; her sister Karen Lundeen, Tucson, AZ and nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her parents Emil and Helen Lundeen, sister Loretta Simonson and brother Gary Lundeen.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 28, 2015 at the Community of Christ Church, 3780 Ward Road, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. With reception to immediately follow at the church.
In lieu of flowers the family recommends donations can be made to The Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) under the Barbara G. Prochnio Memorial Fund.

Marilyn Irene (Setula) Pavelich, 81, passed over on Saturday, February 14, 2015 in Princeton, MN. She was born to Finnish parents John and Ina (Hill) Setula in Austin, MN and a graduate of Washington HS in Brainerd, MN and the U of M where she was a member of the synchronized swimming team and earned her degree in Physical Education.
A resident of Babbitt, MN for over 40 years, Marilyn maintained an active community role in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Friends of the Library, Babbitt Library Board, Babbitt Figure Skating Club, Eastern Star, P.E.O., was an avid outdoorswoman and the embodiment of ‘SISU’.
She will continue to be honored as a loving, caring, and devoted wife, friend, mother and grandmother. Survived by her husband of 56 years, Joseph, son Mark (Kathleen Barrett), daughter Tanya (Cory Bennett) as well as grandchildren: Sean, Sascha and Nicolai. Memorial Tributes at alz.org preferred. Services will be held Sat., March 7 at Grace Lutheran Church in Ely, MN.

Robert John Rozman, 83 of Spearfish, SD died Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015 at Rapid City Regional Hospital in South Dakota

Hazel Lillian (Palo) Przybylski, 79, of Ely, formerly of Babbitt, passed away at Ely Bloomenson Community Hospital on Friday, February 13, 2015. She was born in 1936 in Embarrass to Frank and Ailie (Carlson) Palo.
Hazel was married to her life-long love, Alex Przybylski of 59 years who survives her. She is also survived by daughters: Becky Mather, Brenda Jankowski, Tammy Przybylski; son Cary Przybylski; grandchildren: Aaron (Deena) Mather, Chad (Steph) Jankowski, Amy (Martin) Mather, Craig (Brandy) Jankowski, Cory (Denny) Gowell; 13 great-grandchildren; sisters: Irene (Wendall) Wilson, Helen (George) Houvinen, Melia (Tony) Shikonya, Ann Sandys, and brother, Bill (Gen) Palo, all of who brought great joy to her life.

Kim Coleman Boone, 50, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died of acute liver failure on Tuesday, February 3, 2015 in her condo near the Waikiki beach. She was born in Springfield, Ohio, on September 5, 1964. A memorial and scattering of her ashes will be held in Honolulu on March 21, and again in the summer on Cedar Lake near Ely, MN.
Kim spent every summer of her childhood at her family camp on Cedar Lake and the resilience, courage, and creativity that defined her life was shaped in those woods and waters. She graduated from Walla Walla High School (1982), the University of Texas (1987) and the University of California, Davis (1992) with degrees in exercise physiology, chemistry and biomechanics.

Terry “Squish” Kuzma died on Monday, February 9, 2015 at the CentraCare Hospital in St. Cloud at the age of 55.
Squish was born January 15, 1960 in Ely to Anthony and Florence “Bunnie” (Prebeg) Kuzma. He was a graduate of Ely Memorial High School and attended Vermilion Community College. He had a passion for the sport of baseball and was an avid member of Ely’s high school, VFW and American Legion programs.
Squish met Sue (Zrust) Shimanski at the Jugoslav Home and they married June 19, 1999.
Squish worked at Minntac, as a custodian at Ely businesses, the Ely School District, and most recently as a paper carrier for the St. Cloud Times.

Marian Matschiner, 94, of Winton passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 5, 2015 at Carefree Living in Ely.
Marian was born in Calumet, Michigan on September 18, 1920 to William and Emma Hall. As a child she moved with her family to Ely and moved to Winton upon her marriage to Clemens Matschiner on December 31, 1940.
She graduated from Ely Memorial High School and earned letters as a member of the swimming team. She attended Ely Junior College after high school.
In the 1950s and 1960s she operated a restaurant and then a grocery store in Winton. She later worked at the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital.
After retirement she was able to travel to Washington and Florida for family visits and sightseeing. She caught three salmon on a Puget Sound fishing trip.
In Winton, she was active in community activities and had many friends. As a mother and grandmother she was always supportive and ready with treats and a smile.

Darla Helget, 46, of New Ulm, MN died January 19, 2015 at her home.
Darla loved all animals and loved being in the outdoors and fishing. For a time in her younger years, Darla owned a home in Winton where she lived with her daughter Cori. During this time Darla worked at the Winton Liquor Store and at Hand-Done T-Shirts.
She is survived by her parents and siblings, including brother Kelly (Teresa) Helget of Ely, her daughter Cori of Mankato, MN and two grandchildren.

Michael John “Bait” Jamnick, of Ely, passed away on Friday, February 6, 2015 at Essentia St. Mary’s Medical Center (Hospice) in Duluth at the age of 52.
He was born January 21, 1963 in Ely to Joe and Theresa (Zupancich) Jamnick. He graduated from Ely Memorial High School in 1981.
Mike married the love of his life, Debbie, on August 18, 1995. Mike worked for Zupancich Brothers and proudly served on the Ely Fire Department for 28 years and was president of the Relief Association for 20 years. Mike had a lifelong passion for sports from his high school years to watching his grandchildren participate. He enjoyed watching hours of sports center, playing cribbage with his wife and playing Smear with his family and friends and always taking a chance on the deuce. A very special time of the year was deer hunting with the guys at Farm Lake.

Wesley Hemquist, 91, died on Jan. 26, 2015 in Carefree Living in Ely. He was a WW II veteran. Survived by wife Marie and daughter Gail Peters, both of Ely. Services were private.