Norman D. Grahn

Norman D. Grahn, 75, of Iron River lost his battle with bone cancer on December 10, 2015 at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain, Michigan, surrounded by loving family. He was born September 12, 1940 to Ragnar Grahn and Evelyn (Erickson) Grahn in Stambaugh and attended the Stambaugh Schools. He attended Camp Batawagama and later worked beside his father, learning carpentry and roofing and helped put the roofs on some of the cabins. He played Hockey for the Stambaugh Redwings. He enlisted in the US Army in 1958 and served with the 35th Combat Engineers in Ft Lewis Washington, where he learned to operate heavy equipment, build bridges, and repair diesel engines. He was honorably discharged in 1960. He married his high school sweetheart, Fay May Applin on June 25, 1960. The couple celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary this year. After the Army, he was a skidder operator for logger Warren Groth before he began working for Mid States Machinery in Green Bay. Then he worked for the CanCar Co. (Thunder Bay, Ontario) as a Tree Farmer logging equipment national service representative. He then started his own logging business. He was a self-employed logger and truck driver for many years. He loved running a chain saw and felling big timber. He continued to heat his home with wood that he produced himself until his illness. For a period of time, he worked at Woodland Equipment and Allied Industries until he retired. He was nearly a 50 year member of the St Agnes Catholic Church and in retirement, he was an Usher and Eucharistic minister, and a past member of the Knights of Columbus. He had a wonderful singing voice and sang bass in the Northland Chorus until it disbanded. He was a member of the American Legion Reino Post #21. He was an enthusiastic fan of Wykon Sports when his children and grandchildren and their friends were playing, most recently Girls Basketball and Girls Track, and Football. He loved hunting in the North Blair area of the Ottawa National Forest, which has been a family tradition since he logged the area in the early 1970’s. He loved canoeing and camping with his dog Sophie and his wife Fay. His bear hugs were legendary, and when you received one, you knew you had been hugged. The couple has four children: Kelly (Nancy Huntington) Grahn of Aurora, Illinois, Corey (Susan) Grahn of Grand Rapids, Holly (Michael) Golfis of Iron River, and Jason (Sarah) Grahn of South Boardman. They have eleven grandchildren: Jessica (John) Duncan of Fairbanks, Alaska; Kirsten (Trever) Bohling of Mountain Home, Idaho; Stephanie Grahn, Michael (Courtney) Davis of Grand Rapids, Steven (Wendy Seif) Davis, The Dalles, Oregon; Gabriel, Alexis, and Jared Golfis of Iron River; and Hannah, Isaac, and Justin Grahn of South Boardman. They have four great grandchildren: Richard, Lorelai, and Wyatt Norman Bohling of Mountain Home, Idaho, and Calliope Duncan of Fairbanks, Alaska. He was preceded in death by his parents in 1951 and 1965, his in-laws, Manch and June Applin in 1993 and 1994, and infant grandchildren, Stephanie Rebecca Grahn in 1980 and Zachary Thomas Grahn in 2000. He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren; his siblings, Nancy (John) Moerke of Theinsville, WI, Jerry (Pat) Grahn of Cudahy, WI and Ted (Toni) Grahn of St. Francis, WI numerous nieces and nephews, and numerous cousins in Sweden with whom he’s been reconnecting over the internet since the couple visited the country in 2006, particularly Herb and Birgitta Grahn in Härnösand whom he spoke to almost daily via Skype; his special friends Torsten and Ulla Greta Sellin of Stockholm who facilitated his interest in genealogy and helped coordinate and host their 2006 trip; and his special dog Sophie. Visitation will be held Friday, December 18, 2015 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Jacobs Funeral Home of Iron River. Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 19, 2015 at 10 a.m. at St. Agnes Catholic Church of Iron River with Rev, Gregory Veneklase to offer the Mass of Christian Burial. The West Side Veterans will accord Military Rites at the service. Interment will be in Resthaven Cemetery in the spring. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Norman D. Grahn, please visit our flower store.