Obituary: Duane Arntson

Duane Arntson, 98, of Esko, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away on Saturday, June 17, 2023.

Duane grew up and attended school in Cloquet. He joined the U.S. Navy at age 17 and served in the South Pacific during World War II. He received the Bronze Star Medal for service in combat. After the war, he attended Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis. He married Mary Sampson in July 1946. They celebrated 75 years of marriage. Duane worked at Potlatch for over 40 years while helping run the family dairy farm. He was a member of the Esko Seniors and Perkins morning coffee friends.

Duane enjoyed gardening, flowers, fishing, his hunting shack and spending time at their Lake Vermilion cabin. Sports were a huge part of his life, whether he was participating or watching. He played baseball most of his life, including with the Cloquet city baseball team.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary; parents, Alfred and Dorothy Arntson; brother, Jim Arntson; sister Betty Kinnunen; and son-in-law, Bob Carver.

Duane is survived by his daughters, Diane (Richard) Bordwell, Janet Carver and Cheryl LeMire; son, Jeff Arntson; sisters Ruby (Dick) Heikkinen and Margaret Mell; and 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

The family would like to give a special thanks to Barnes Care and St. Croix Hospice for their respectful and excellent care of Duane.

Visitation: 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. funeral service on Thursday, June 29 at Atkins-Northland Funeral Home Chapel, 801 14th St., Cloquet. A luncheon will follow the service in the fireside room of the funeral home. Burial will be in Apostolic Lutheran Cemetery in Esko at 1:30 p.m.

Arrangements by Atkins-Northland Funeral Home. To sign the guestbook and leave an online tribute, see http://www.atkinsnorthlandfuneralhome.com.