Loretta F. Knutson

Loretta Fern Knutson, 89, of Shelby Township, Mich., passed away on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, at home, surrounded by loved ones. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12 at the Nett Lake Baptist Church. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Arrangements are with Mlaker Funeral Home of Cook.
Loretta was born on Oct. 11, 1936, in Cloquet, to Benjamin and Alice Roy Porter.  She was born and raised in northern Minnesota, near Bois Forte Reservation. She was invited to live with Dr. and Mrs. Sommerdorf in St. Paul, to attend school. She found work and lifelong friendships at Anchor School of Nursing, during which time she met her future husband, Howard.  They courted and soon got married when he proposed that they move together to Palmer, Alaska, to run a boy’s home. He was enraptured by her adventurous spirit. They soon gave birth to a daughter, Karla, and moved to Thompson, N.D., to farm and raise a family. 
They welcomed life into their home on the farm, including many international students from the University of North Dakota, where Loretta eventually went back to school to finish a BS in nursing and restart her career. 
She moved back to Nett Lake to take care of her mother, while taking on the position of director of the Bois Forte Clinic, as Howard sold the farm and built a house next door to her mother’s.
Then, Loretta did home health care work, while starting her business, Bois Forte Native Arts and Crafts, which had been a lifelong dream, allowing her the freedom to express herself though the arts she had learned while growing up, such as beadwork, birch bark, and quilt making.
Loretta supported the local native artists with her business by purchasing their art when they came to sell at her store, and then reselling with pride at powwows, whenever she could go. She welcomed tourists to her store in Orr, enjoying visiting with and having them sign her guest book.
She eventually moved to Michigan to live and be in the care of her daughter’s family. 
She is survived by her daughter, Karla (Arko) den Engelse; son, Neil (Tracy Benton) Knutson; grandchildren, Anna den Engelse, Elijah (Olivia) den Engelse, Nicholas den Engelse, Gabriel den Engelse, Micah den Engelse, Malachi den Engelse, Sadie Knutson, Nora Knutson and Asa Knutson; and great-grandchildren, Gideon den Engelse, Samuel den Engelse and Eowyn den Engelse.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard; son, Tony Knutson; brother, Edwin Porter; sister, Ina Porter; granddaughter, Eowyn den Engelse; nephew, Warren Porter; and niece, Anita Porter.