Obituaries

John Steven Vesel, age 56, a resident of Aberdeen, Washington, died on April 21, 2022, at Harbor Regional Hospital, Aberdeen. John was born on May 4, 1965, in Ely, Minnesota to John Vincent and Rosemary (Bishoff) Vesel. He was the youngest of six children and the youngest of 32 cousins on the Vesel side of the family.
John was raised in Ely, Minnesota and attended Ely Memorial High School. After serving in the US Army, he relocated to the state of Washington and married Sherry Burtenshaw. John became a master electrician and later, he and Sherry owned their own company, J.V. Electric, LLC.
John will always be remembered for his loving, kind, gentle spirit and his infectious laugh, not to mention his love for his family and his dog, Bailey and other pets.

Thomas H. Blyton, 66, of Ely, passed away on Friday, April 29, 2022 at the Boundary Waters Care Center. Family arrangements have been entrusted to Kerntz Funeral Home of Ely.

Dale (Tom) Soderberg passed away April 30, 2022 after an illness, while receiving the exceptional care of Edgewood Healthcare Fargo, Hospice of the Red River Valley and his wife Julie. Other loving family were also present with Dale at the end of his life.
Dale was born on March 26, 1938 in Soudan, MN, the son of Carl and Bertha (Westerin) Soderberg. Dale attended Tower-Soudan Schools and graduated from high school there. Dale then received his undergraduate education at the University of Minnesota Duluth and went on to become a proud alumni of the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. He served in the Army Medical Corps for several years, stationed at Hohenfels Army Base in Germany. Dale later owned a dental practice in Ely and Tower MN until he retired.

Lee Roger Gustafson, 72, of Cook, MN, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday April 28, 2022 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth.
Lee was born on February 26, 1950 to Gust Jr. and Elfva (Persson) Gustafson in Virginia, MN. Lee grew up in Cook, graduating from Cook High School in 1968. He then attended Bemidji State College before returning home to partner with his brother Lloyd in acquiring the family business, Gustafson Motors Ford Dealership. Lee and his brother operated the business for 40 years, totaling the Gustafson family ownership to 75 years. Lee lived in Cook but resided at Lake Vermilion in the summer.
Lee loved being an uncle and participated in many family gatherings. He attended his nephew’s sports and school activities regularly. He was a proud business owner and treated his clients like family. He enjoyed swimming, boating and specialty cars.

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.