Gale E. Stowell

Gale E. Stowell, 78, of Iron River, MI, lost his battle to cancer February 18 at Northstar Health System, Iron River. He was born May 5, 1936 in Wayne, MI, the son of the late Benjamin Stowell and Arthur and Vera (Bassett) Trost. He attended the Wayne school system. He worked as a mechanic until his retirement in 2006. On December 13, 1974 Gale married his loving wife Sonne Babb in Ontonagon, MI. They celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in 2014. The couple have resided in the Iron River area since 1975. He and Sonne received the Citizen of the Year award in 1985 from the Kiwanis Club of Iron County. They owned and operated the Wild River Motel for ten years. Gale worked for Krist Oil years before retiring, where he was head of the shop. Gale attended the Lakeland Baptist Church. He was involved with Wildlife Unlimited, the Iron County Fair Board, the Iron County Soil Conservation Board, and the Beechwood Historical Society. He belonged to the Operating Engineers Union and was a 4-H leader. He also served on the Board of Trustees for Iron River Township and Bohemia Township. He was the Zoning Administrator in Bates Township and the Constable of Bates for the last several years. He enjoyed woodworking, and teaching his grandson Ryker how to make wood items. He looked forward to making maple syrup each spring and shooting at Camp Gibbs with his grandson, Ryker. Gale is survived by his wife, Sonne; sons, Adam Johnson of Wyoming, and Jeff Johnson of Iron River, and his children, Noah and Ryker, William (Ginger Stowell of Oregon, and Randall (Shelley) Stowell of Washington; daughter, Rebecca (Chris) Smith of Washington; brother, Gerald (Laurie) Stowell of Florida; sisters, Karen (Bill) Stacy of Florida, and Kathy (Ed) Meyers of lower Michigan; several grandchildren; nieces nephews, and extended family. He was also preceded in death by brothers, Arthur Trost and Wendell Stowell, and sister, Margie Edmonds. Visitation will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 21, 2015 at the Lakeland Baptist Church of Iron River, with a memorial service to follow at 11:30 a.m. Honorary pallbearers are Robert Gallup, GAry Gallup, Mike Hemeleski, Robert Benter, Denny Turner, and Jim Stolberg.     To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Gale E. Stowell, please visit our flower store.