Obituaries

Charlotte May Copija, age 77, of Rice Lake, WI died Sunday, September 29, 2019 at The Neighbors of Dunn County, WI.
She was born on September 20, 1942 in Ely, Minnesota to Charles and Mollie (Lah) Tisovich. Charlotte graduated from the Ely High School and received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from the University of Minnesota - Duluth. She was married to Michael “Mickey” Copija on July 1, 1972 in Rusk County, WI. Charlotte taught High School and Elementary Physical Education in Minnesota and then in Rice Lake for over 30 years. She enjoyed going to the casino, watching TV, traveling and polka dancing with Mickey.

On Thursday, September 26, 2019, Helen Joyce (Hayes) Clark, of Auburn, GA, loving wife and mother of four children, graduated this life and ascended into the arms of her Divine Father. Helen was 85 years old.
Helen was born at home on November 7, 1933 in Cloquet, MN. She was the youngest daughter of Clarence and Eva (Pigman) Hayes. She received her diploma in nursing from St. Luke’s School of Nursing, Duluth, MN, in the spring of 1954. In the fall of 1954, she married Phillip S. Clark. Together they raised two daughters, Connie and Jan, both RNs- following in their mother’s footsteps. And two sons, Patrick and Curtis who passed away unexpectedly in 1973.

Harvey L. Hvezda III, 52, of Ely, passed away on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 in Ely. A gathering of family and friends will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2019, starting at 1:00 P.M. at Veteran's on the Lake. Family arrangements have been entrusted to Kerntz Funeral Home of Ely.

Kenneth Townsend Sanders, 80, passed away Monday, September 23, 2019 at the Boundary Waters Care Center.

Ken is survived by his three sons, Michael (and Becky) Sanders, Mark Sanders, and Matt (and Beth) Sanders; twelve grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and dear friends of his later years in the Ely area. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Born in Greer, South Carolina and raised in Livonia, Michigan, the son of Hubert and Irene Sanders, Ken was a long-time resident of the states of Michigan and Minnesota.

Ken served in the U.S. Air Force for five years and later worked as a millwright at Ford Motor Company until his retirement. He relocated to Ely, MN in 1989.

After a year-long battle with cancer, James Sutherland, 70, passed away on Thursday, September 26, 2019.

James R. Sutherland was born in Superior, Wisconsin to James E. Sutherland and Beverly (Shaw) Sutherland on August 9, 1949. He was a member of the Superior High graduating class of 1967, graduated in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin - Superior with a degree in Elementary Education, and completed his Master’s degree in School Administration in 1979.

Jim began his teaching career in Hartford, WI before moving to Fairchild Elementary where he taught for 10 years and was the principal for the following six years. In 1990, he took the elementary/ middle school principal position at the Fall Creek school district. In 2004, he took the opportunity for an early retirement and built his dream home on Eagles Nest Lake near Ely, Minnesota.

Theodore R. "Ted" Bergstrom, age 89, of Oak Park Heights Passed away September 14th, 2019 from heart complications. He is survived by his wife Theodocia (Teddy); five children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild: John & Nancy; Carl with Briana, Haley & Woody; Bill & Bev with Natalie & Drew; Karen (Bergstrom) & David Hewes with Jacob & Ashley with Eddie, Nate & Kara, and Caitlin; Ann (Bergstrom) & Matt Lind with Bjorn. Born August 22, 1930 in Chicago, IL, Ted attended Colorado School of Mines on a football scholarship to pursue a metallurgical engineering degree. While at a college dance he met a woman named Theodocia, who upon learning their common names and mutual values, felt destined to be together for life. They married on June 12, 1954 the day after she graduated, and then served in the Navy until 1957.

Judith S. “Judy” Ravlin, age 75, passed away September 18, 2019.
She was born in Ely, Minnesota on May 12, 1944 to the late Joseph and Angela (Jasper) Godec. Judy retired from Internal Medical Associates and was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.
Judy is survived by her husband of 54 years, Larry Ravlin; children, Renae Thompson (Wade), Phil Ravlin (Marla), Connie Lauvetz (Larry) and Nicole Browning (Mike); siblings, Phyllis Petrick (Robert) and Fred Godec (Charlotte); 11 grandchildren; nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of other family and friends.

Grover Rhoades Jr., age 90, of Ely passed away on Sept. 20, 2019 of heart failure.
Jr. is survived by his wife JoAnn, daughter Cinda and son-in-law Mike; two granddaughters, one great-granddaughter, four stepchildren, 13 step-grandchildren, and 17 step-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, his son-in-law and sister.
Jr. was born on January 17, 1929 in Ohio. He served in the Marines in California and returned to Ohio in 1953 to work on the family farm.
Jr. married JoAnn in 1989 and they had 30 happy years working and enjoying life together.
He was an active man who was deeply involved in his work, that included cutting wood, working at resorts. He enjoyed fishing, gardening, wood working and making furniture.
His family and friends will always remember Jr. as a good man who enjoyed helping other people.

VIRGINIA (GINNIE) RUTH HARGER, 83, of Ely, MN, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Monday, September 23, 2019 at Boundary Waters Care Center in Ely.
She was born on August 18, 1936 in Oak Park, Illinois to Larkin and Charlotte Tyler. On April 22, 1955 she married Henry C. Harger in Berkeley, IL. After living most of their lives in Illinois, the two retired to Ely, Minnesota in 1990, where they attended Grace Lutheran Church for 27 years. Ginnie was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a prolific quilter, making hundreds of quilts for missions, family members, and others. She also enjoyed crocheting afghans for family and friends. In recent years, after macular degeneration had claimed most of her vision, Ginnie still kept her hands busy crocheting over a hundred and fifty beautiful afghans that she donated to the local nursing homes for distribution to their residents.

Walter August Fendt, Jr., 87, of rural Ely passed away with family by his side on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019.
Wally was born on Dec. 24, 1931 in Chicago, IL to Walter and Mildred Fendt. Wally is survived by his wife Carolyn of 41 years and children, Tina (Billy) Dehmlow, Tom Smith, Jeff (Trish) Fendt and Monica Arika; grandchildren: Lucas, Leia, Duke, Scott, Nathan, Victor, Kaleb, Benjamin, Jason, Eric, Andrew and Kaitlyn and ten great-grandchildren: Emma, Hannah, Damien, Kayla, Mya, Khloe, Grace, Tovi, Lucas and Dylan; sister and brother-in-law Carol and Joe Nixon. Wally was preceded in death by his parents, infant son Timothy and niece.
Wally graduated from high school in Chicago and attended the Art Institute of Chicago.