Dec. 26--The Bemidji Pioneer, Minn., Obituaries Phyllis Emerson Cooper, 91, of Bemidji, died Monday, Dec. 22, 2008, at North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji. A remembrance will be held at 3 p.m. Monday at Neilson Place with Rev. Linnea Papke-Larson officiating. Burial will be near her mother and father at the Chapel of the Pines Columbarium in Los Angeles, Calif. Brenny Funeral Chapel of Baxter, Minn., assisted the family with arrangements. She was born Feb. 24, 1917, to Richard and Ruby (Bither) Golden in Minneapolis. She married her first husband, Roland Drexler, in 1937. She married her second husband, A. William 'Bill' Cooper, in 1965. She left Minnesota in the early 1950s with her children and moved to California. She returned to Minnesota in June 1998 and settled in Bemidji. She lived at Gold Pine Home until her move to Neilson Place in August 2005. She is survived by her daughter, Kathy (Ed) Schmuch of Bemidji; sons, Dale (Jeanne) Drexler of Murrieta, Calif., and Gary (Marye) Drexler of Irving, Texas; three granddaughters; a great-great-granddaughter; and a great-great-grandson.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Harriet Stauss and Audrey Cyr; brother, Bob Golden; grandson, Doug Drexler and both husbands. Messages of condolences may be sent to www.brenny.com.
Delma Elizabeth Hardy, formerly of Ponemah, died August 7, 1996, in Chicago, Ill. Traditional funeral services will be held at noon Sunday at the Ponemah Community Center in Ponemah with a Spiritual Leader. A wake will begin today at the Ponemah Community Center and will continue until the time of the services. Burial will be in the family burial grounds at Rabbit Point near Ponemah under the direction of the Cease Family Funeral Home of Bemidji.
Gail Susan Symington Ahern, 68, of Bemidji, died Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008, at Neilson Place in Bemidji. A private family service will be held in the spring. She was born August 3, 1940, to Ernest and Grace Moore Symington, natural born Canadians, who later became American citizens, in Philipsburg, N.J. She grew up in Delaware and graduated from Sanford Preparatory School in Hockessin, Del., where she excelled in academics and athletics. She attended nursing school and became a registered nurse. She worked at many different locations including many reservations and tribal communities where she gained many friendships that would last her lifetime. In 1992, she was forced into early retirement due to breast cancer. During that period in her life, she discovered a talent for quilting and fiber art. She is survived by her daughter, Tish Keahna of Hayward, Wis.; son, Joshua Ahern of Bemidji and three grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Ahern; parents; and brother, William Symington. In lieu of flowers the family prefers memorial to the Boys & Girls Club of the Bemidji Area. Online guestbook at www.olsonschwartzfuneralhome.com.
June Marie Miller, 71, of Bemidji, died Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, at North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji. Private memorial services will be held at a later date. Burial will be in Little Falls Veteran's Cemetery under the direction of the Cease Family Funeral Home of Bemidji.
She was born June 2, 1937, to William and Edith (Berglund) Holmer. She grew up in Milaca, Minn., and graduated from Milaca High School. She graduated from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn. She worked as a teacher in Rockford, Ill., and later married James L. Miller. They moved to Shakopee, Minn., where she worked at the Shakopee County Courthouse and was a Sunday school teacher for many years at St. John's Lutheran Church. She is survived by her children, James Lee Miller Jr. and Julie Marie Miller; brothers, James Holmer, Kenneth Holmer, John Holmer and Larry Holmer; sisters, Marian Stromquist, Jane Johnson and Joyce Miller: four grandchildren; nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband on Feb. 10, 2007, and brother, William S. Holmer.
Hylda Erickson, 94, longtime Littlefork businesswoman and funeral director, died Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008, in Charles City, Iowa. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 3, at the Littlefork Lutheran Church in Littlefork with Rev. Glenn Leaf officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services at the church. Burial will be in the Oakley Cemetery in Littlefork in the spring. The Cease Family Funeral Home in Blackduck is assisting the family with arrangements.
Chester Benson, 71, of Bemidji, died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008, at home.
Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home of Bemidji is assisting the family with arrangements.
Clement (Jerry) J. Doran, Jr died at La Mariposa Care & Rehabilitation home in Fairfield, CA on December 22, 2008. He had been fighting ill health for all of 2008. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held at St. John's Lutheran Church, 3521 Linda Vista Ave, Napa on Monday, December 29th at 1 PM. Bryan-Braker Funeral Home of Fairfield, CA is handling the arrangements in California. Funeral services are being planned for 1 PM on Friday, January 2, 2008, at the Cease Funeral Home in Blackduck with Rev. Roy Johnson officiating. Visitation will be from 11 AM to 1 PM, two hours prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will be at the Wildwood Cemetery in Wildwood Township of Koochiching County, rural Northome, Minnesota. Jerry was born April 11, 1926 in Grand Rapids, MN, the oldest child of Clement and Irene Doran. He attended Grand Rapids schools through graduation. Upon graduation he enlisted in the Navy. After WWII he attended the University of Minnesota, where he played on the varsity football team (right guard) and received a degree in Pharmacy. After college he worked as a drug company salesman in Minneapolis and moved his family to Duluth where he eventually owned Medical Arts Pharmacy and Doran's Medical Supply Company. Jerry was quite active in the Jaycees. He was the president of the Duluth and Minnesota State Jaycees. Around this time, the late 50's, he separated from his wife and moved to Washington DC where he worked for the National Jc's. He became a national vice president.
Jerry married Barbara Sorquist in November 1963. They moved to California and lived first in LA and then in Napa. In Napa, Jerry owned the Trade Fair Pharmacy on Lincoln Ave. This was moved to Main and First where it Incorporated two other pharmacies under the name of Doran's Downtown Pharmacy. He was also the Administrator of Redwood Christian Convalescent Hospital. Jerry was very active in his church (St. John's Lutheran Church). He taught the Bethel Program to the congregation and also held other Bible study classes. He served on the Board of Elders and was President of the congregation. He was commissioned a Deacon (lay minister) in 1996. Jerry and Barbara moved to Bemidji, MN in 1998 to be closer to his daughter Maria and her family. They lived there until 2003, when Barbara passed away. After that Jerry spent winter with his daughter Jan in CA and late spring to early fall with his daughter Maria in Northome. He moved permanently to California in fall of 2007 and lived with his daughter Jan and her family. He is survived by his five children Jan (Bill) Griffin of Fairfield, CA, Jean (Scott) Kraus of Abq., NM, Nancy (Charles) Castillo of Abq., NM, Kelly (Maria) Doran of Minneapolis, MN, and Maria (John) Threat of Rochester, MN, Sister-in-law Dolores Reitmeier of Alameda, CA, Brother-in-law Terrance Sorquist of Bemidji, MN and 10 grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donation be made in his name to your local Hospice, which is instrumental in the care of those dying and their loved ones; or to the American Cancer Society. Condolences can be sent at ceasefuneralhome.com. -- Paid obituary
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