Obituaries

Sylvia S. Slaughter, 82 of Ely, passed away April 27th at Boundary Waters Care Center with family at her side.
Sylvia was born in Ely on June 22, 1939 and lived most of her life at Piney Ridge Camp on Shagawa Lake. She and Claude owned the resort and had five children. Sylvia spent many years working at the Ely Bloomenson Hospital and some years at the West Palm Beach Hospital after closing the Resort.
She always had a smile and a laugh and loved her doggies. Never pass up doughnuts or dessert. Sylvia loved spending time outdoors, planting and tending her flower beds and enjoying the sunshine.

Patricia L. (Helback) Wick, 92, of Duluth passed away April 26, 2022, at Chris Jensen. She was born December 27, 1929, to Gust and Lulu (Kultala) Helback in Ely Minnesota. She was raised in Ely and graduated from Ely High School Class of 1947.

After graduation Patsy moved to Minneapolis where she worked for Northern States Power in the purchasing department. Later she moved up and was the Secretary to the President of NSP. Patsy would travel home to Ely every weekend. She was a devote Christian and very active in her Church. She was an avid quilter, embroiderer, scrapbooker and enjoyed sewing.

In 1954 she married Rev. George Wick and together they had four children. Throughout the years they lived in Moose Lake, Superior, St. Paul, Ely, and Duluth.

Celebration of life for Kenneth P. Ferderber will take place on May 20th at 11 a.m. at the Church of Saint Paul, Ham Lake, MN. Following will be a luncheon at the VFW in Blaine, MN 1374 109th Avenue NE., Blaine MN 55424.
Ken passed away January 8th, 2022 at the age of 77. He was born October 26th, 1944 in Ely, MN to Peter and Mary Ferderber who preceded him in death.
Ken graduated from Ely Memorial High, Class of 1962. Following graduation Ken served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. After his service, Kenneth married his wife of 53 years, Diana (Kelley) Ferderber.
Together Ken and Diana raised their two children; Kenneth Jr. and Carmen.

Donald Charles Myntti, 98, of Duluth, died on April 23, 2022, at the Marywood Residence (Benedictine Living Community) on the Campus of the College of St. Scholastica, surrounded by his loving family. He was born to Charles and Laura (Järvinen) Myntti in Chisholm, MN on August 11, 1923, and grew up in Ely.

Don’s life, until the end, was animated by his “legacy values”, those values he held most dear and wished to pass on to his children:
to work hard, do his best, and to earn the respect of all; to make his wife & children the center of his world; to nurture his life-long friendships; to follow his passion to see & know the world as a globe-trotter, and as a life-long learner; to choose optimism; to feed his unquenchable curiosity; to practice gratitude for having exceeded all expectations, and for his happy & healthy life; to celebrate his life-long attachment to the Iron Range & its people; and finally, to appreciate his Finnish roots and values.

JOHN RAYMOND TEKAVEC, 86, of Ely passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 16th in Northern Pines Care Center in Aurora, MN. His well-known nickname was “Tekker”.
He was born April 20, 1935 in Ely, son of John and Mary(Shober)Tekavec and married Paulette Pishler in 1962.

Michael H Haney (Mike) died April 17, 2022, at Ely Bloomenson Community Hospital.
According to Mike, “Nobody said life is fair,” and having lung cancer with tumors in the brain and spine certainly was not fair. Mike was born September 26, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois to Marie Eva Ellenson and Hildon H Haney. He met Margaret Gail Siltman on a blind date at Western Illinois University (Mike-Class of 1969) in 1966. They married August 26, 1967 and were married over 53 years when he died. He was a loving and devoted husband.

James F. Anderson, 83, of Ely and Hermantown, walked on after a brief stay at Solvay Hospice in Duluth on April 17, 2022.
He was born on Valentine’s Day 1939, which also was his teenage sister’s birthday – a special bond that carried them through the years as she helped raise him while his mother and father had just begun the grand adventure of starting Echo Tail Lodge on the east arm of Burntside Lake. He was the special surprise in his family, and at 16 when his father died he was thrust too quickly into resort responsibilities that set the stage for how he would face any of life’s hardship and adversity: with a quiet resolve and amiable determination. As her “caboose”, the bond forged with his mother through happy times and hardship remained unbroken with her passing.

Rose Lee Newman, 94, passed away peacefully on April 16, 2022 at Solvay Hospice House in Duluth.
Rose Lee was born in Ely on Oct. 30, 1927 to Joseph and Katherine (Rozich) Peshel. She graduated from Ely Memorial High School in 1945 and received post-secondary education at Ely Junior College. In her youth she worked in the Ely theater and later as a Dental Assistant for Dr. Call and Dr. Skule. She married Walter John Newman on Oct 18, 1952 and shortly thereafter moved to Ashwaubenon near Green Bay, WI. While there she worked as an office clerk in the Brown County Airport. In 1957 they returned to Ely to begin their family. Over the next four years they had 3 boys; Paul, John and Mark.

Barbara Jean Conder, age 69, longtime Ely resident, died Sunday, April 10, 2022 at Edgewood Senior Living in Virginia. She was born June 23, 1952 in Marinette, WI the daughter of TJ and Betty (Boren) Bergan. Barbara was a graduate of Catholic Central High School in Marinette, received her Bachelor of Arts form Concordia, and earned her Master of Theological Studies form the University of Dallas. Barbara married Daniel Conder on October 4, 1975, in Marinette, WI; the couple lived in Cincinnati, Northern Wisconsin, Green Bay, and Ely, Minnesota.

Carol (Wattunen) Przybylski, 89, of Ely passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 , at the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital with her children by her side.
Carol was born on February 12, 1933 in Winton, MN to Gus and Jennie (Johnson) Wattunen. She married her high school sweetheart, the love of her life, Nick Przybylski on November 15, 1952. They were married for 66 years. Carol and Nick enjoyed raising their seven children in Winton, MN. Her family was her greatest accomplishment.
Along with raising her children, she worked at a telephone office as an operator, the Ely Laundromat, at EBCH as a Dietary Aide and at USFS in their Senior Program.
Carol and Nick had a passion for polka dancing and traveled in their RV to attend many polka festivals. They made a countless number of friends over the years. Carol and Nick’s love for polka dancing put a smile on many people’s faces. It was a joy to watch them dance together.