ADAM THADIOUS KLOSOWSKI

March 1, 2013 marked the end of 92 years and a great life for Adam Thadious Klosowski.

Adam was the youngest of nine children born to Rozalia (Tozeweski) and Severin Klosowski., both Polish immigrants. He was born on Nov. 4, 1920 at their home in Sturgeon Lake Township. He died at his home one-half mile from his birthplace.

Adam was a child of the Great Depression and a member of the Greatest Generation that went to war in 1941. He attended Cherry Grove Elementary and completed eight years of schooling by passing his eighth grade state examinations upon completing seventh grade. He worked on his family farm and supported himself by trapping, hunting, and fishing. Adam later moved to Chicago where he drove taxi cab. He enlisted in the U.S. Army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Following training in the States, Adam was accepted into the Army Air Corps. While stationed in Sudbury, England with the Eighth Air Force, 486th Bomber Group, he flew as a waist gunner on 16 missions before his B-17 bomber was shot down over Munster, Germany. He was taken prisoner by the Germans and held as a POW in Stalag Luft IV for four months. Later he was forced to march toward the Western Front on the "Black Hunger March" in the midst of winter. He and a buddy escaped during the march and, after surviving two weeks of walking on their own and hiding, they finally ran into English troops on April 25, 1945.

Adam married his childhood sweetheart, Irene Magdziarz, on Aug. 18, 1945. The two settled in Duluth where Adam worked for the DMI Railroad and U.S. Steel. In 1947 he and Irene purchased a dairy farm in Sturgeon Lake where they would spend the rest of their lives. Adam subsidized their income by working road construction, as well as holding the position of township assessor; later he became Pine County Assessor. Adam wrote B-17 Gunner a WWII Autobiography and was active in speaking about his war experiences to civic groups and schools. He was fortunate to attend many reunions of the 486th and annual EX-POW conventions. In 2010 the St. Cloud Area Honor Flight Association selected Adam to visit Washington D.C. and the World War II Memorial. Always curious, Adam loved traveling. He and Irene visited most of the United States as well as countries abroad. He delighted in and was proud of his family. A true naturalist, Adam enjoyed the outdoors; through his appreciation and knowledge of it, he taught others to do the same. His sense of humor was legendary and he was a superb story teller.

He was preceded in death by all of his siblings; his son Kenneth, and his beloved wife of 62 years, Irene.

Adam will be sadly missed by his daughters, Mary Ann Novak (Gary), Carol LaPointe (Paul), Karen Hankes (Joe), and Jean Klosowski (Ken Swanson); 13 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren and all those who enjoyed the blessings of knowing him.

Special thanks to Mercy Home Health Care, Visionary Care, and Essentia Health St. Mary's Hospice.

VISITATION: 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 10, with a Rosary Service at 5 p.m. in St. Isidore's Catholic Church, Sturgeon Lake and will continue Monday, March 11 from 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial in the church. Spring Interment will take place at St. Isidore's Catholic Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to St. Isidore's or St. Mary's Catholic Church or St. Cloud Honor Flight. To sign the guestbook online, go to: www.hhkfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are with Hamlin-Hansen-Kosloski Funeral Home, Moose Lake.

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