RONALD RAY OETTEL

Ronald Ray Oettel, 72 of Cloquet died unexpectedly on Monday, Feb. 25, 2013 while vacationing in Mexico.

He was born Sept.15, 1940 in Duluth to Robert and Ruth Oettel.

He grew up in Hermantown and graduated from Hermantown High School in 1958. He married Karen Fulton in 1960 and they moved to Mentor, Minn. where Ron tried his hand at pig farming for a few years. They moved to Cloquet where Ron attended UMD and also worked at Nels Nelson. In the 1970’s he partnered with Chip Kubis, forming O&K Construction. Ron’s wife, Karen died in 1993. He married Darlene Morehouse on Jan. 6, 1996 and they made their home in Cloquet. Ron retired in 2006 but continued to do side jobs during his retirement. He also enjoyed flower gardening, traveling, shopping, and being out in the woods. He loved his coffee. Every morning you could find Ron at the Pantry with his coffee buddies and then he would go home and have coffee with his wife. And Ron just loved people. He could talk to anyone about anything.

He was a former member of the Air National Guard. Ron was a current member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church where he served on the church properties committee and was currently serving on the planning commission in Scanlon.

Ron was preceded in death by his first wife, Karen.

He is survived by his wife of 17 years, Darlene; daughter, Cindy (Joe) Giroux of Alexandria; step children, Treven (Kim) Morehouse of Chaska and Tara Morehouse of St. Louis Park; brother, Russ (Jeannie) Oettel of Red Wing; and five grandchildren.

VISITATION: 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, March 4, 2013 in the Atkins Northland Funeral Home, 801 14th St., Cloquet. Visitation will continue from 1 until the 2 p.m. funeral service Tuesday, March 5, in Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 615 12th St. in Cloquet. Burial will be at Maple Grove Cemetery. To sign the guest book and offer an online tribute, see www.atkinsnorthlandfuneralhome.com

Tags: obituaries