Obituaries - May 17, 2019

Gladys I. Winans

Gladys Irene Winans, 81, of Mt. Iron, passed away on Sunday, May 12, 2019, at her residence. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 17 at Messiah Lutheran Church in Mt. Iron with visitation one hour prior. Pastor Ellen Taube will officiate. Arrangements are with Range Funeral Home in Virginia. The family would like to thank Diane Bainter and the Fairview Hospice staff for their loving and compassionate care.

Gladys was born on March 24, 1938, in Pike Township, to Walter and Lahja (Salminen) Maki. She was a graduate of Gilbert High School. On July 20, 1957, she was united in marriage to Archie Winans. Gladys enjoyed watching sports, reading, baking, participating in Bible Study, camping at Pfeiffer Lake, and spending time with family. She was a member of the Messiah Lutheran Church.

She is survived by her children, Scott (Debi) Winans of Embarrass, Ted Winans of Moose Lake, Connie (Kent) Olson of Angora, Kurt Winans of Mt. Iron, Luke (Amy) Winans of Mt. Iron and Angie (Ron) Williams of Virginia; grandchildren, Travis Winans, Todd Winans, Sarah Carter, Tyler Carter, Jerry Solveson, Tanya (Rashod) Solveson, Dawn Olson, Deven Winans, Kendra (Dakota) Swanson, Jozey Orcutt, Eddy Orcutt, Dakotah Winans, Mariah Winans, Archie Winans, Kayla Williams, Jada Williams, and Kyle Williams; four great-grandchildren; sister, Fran Wiebke of Apple Valley; brother, Stuart Maki of Embarrass; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Archie; and brother, Stanley Maki.

Steve J. Stepan

Steve James Stepan, 75, of Ely, died on Friday, April 26, 2019, in Essentia - St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. Services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 8 in Bauman’s Vermilion Funeral Home in Tower. Bill Bauman will officiate. A gathering time for family and friends will begin one hour prior to the service. Family services are provided by Bauman-Vermilion, a Bauman Family Funeral Home in Tower.

Steve was born on April 5, 1944, in Soudan, the son of John and Marion (Atwood) Stepan. He was a graduate of Tower-Soudan High School and served in the Army National Guard. Steve grew up in Soudan, and lived in Chicago, Bonita Springs, Fla., and Lake Vermilion-Tower prior to moving to Ely. Steve worked as a hunting and fishing guide on Crooked Lake for Billy Zup while in high school, was a co-founder of Chase Associates Engineering firm in Chicago, and owned and operated the Glenmore Resort on Lake Vermilion.

Steve was a published author, writing several books on handguns and the fictional work, “Sundown at Dawn”. He was a member of the Lake Vermilion Resort Association, a Texas Hold‘em Poker group, and the Tower Liars Club. He was an avid outdoorsman, and loved traveling the world as often as he could. Steve was well-read, knew a lot about many subjects, and was always willing to enter into spirited conversations.

Steve is survived by his children, Gwen (Michael) Loyd of Pingree Grove, Ill., and David (Jennifer) Stepan of Sun Prairie, Wis.; grandchildren, Lilly, Corey, Salem and “one on the way”; siblings, Jeanne (Terry) Driscoll and Paul (Robin) Stepan, all of Tower; former spouse, Joan Stepan of Sandwich, Ill.; numerous nieces, nephews and extended family; girlfriend, Victory Jeffers of Chicago; and many friends, including close friend, Flossie Strickland of Ely; and his beloved cat, Callie.

He was preceded in death by his parents; siblings, John E. Stepan and Edward J. Stepan; niece and goddaughter, Shannon Driscoll.

Shirley L. Martinson

Shirley Lorraine Martinson, 64, of Cook, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by her family on Friday, May 10, 2019, after a courageous 22-month battle with brain cancer. A memorial service was held on Thursday, May 16 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cook. Arrangements were with Mlaker Funeral Home in Cook.

Bernard J. Pruse Sr.

Bernard John “Bernie” Pruse Sr., 94, of Ely, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family in his White Iron Lake home on the evening of Wednesday, April 30, 2019. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 17 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Ely with visitation one hour preceding. Private interment will be at a later date.

He is survived by his wife, Josephine; children, Mary Jo Hewitt (James), Bernard Jr. (Melody), Kathy Horoshak (Brad) and James (Alana); 10 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews.