Obituary: Annette Wise

Annette Jane Wise, 100, went to her heavenly home on July 25, 2024, at the Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. She was born Aug. 21, 1923, on a farm nestled on the Cook side of Lake Vermilion to August and Catherine Nelson. She grew up impoverished, a product of the Great Depression, and was born without the services of a midwife, as her family was unable to afford one. Her father delivered her himself. Her sister Doris often joked that they were “so poor, even the poor people thought they were poor.” Annette’s family was also the victim of an unexplained arson attack, their barn burning down and bringing destruction to their home and resulting in the death of their Percheron stallion.

Eventually, Annette’s family would move to a farm on Market Road in Birch Creek Township, Sturgeon Lake. She would continue to grow, attending school in a one-room schoolhouse until she came of age. Annette graduated from Willow River High School in 1941 and moved on to attend the Duluth State Teachers College for one year.

She moved to Cloquet and began work at the Northwest Paper Company, where she met her future husband, Myron “Mike” Wise, who would become a decorated veteran in World War II. Annette and Mike married on Dec. 26, 1952, and raised their four children together in their shared home at 105 18th Street in Cloquet.

As Annette was raised without many means, she grew up without much of a faith background. But she became a champion of God’s teachings as an adult through the ministry of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Cloquet. She attended Bethany Covenant Church frequently and taught Sunday School there for many years, transforming the lives of countless children through her own form of ministry.

In her later years she was an avid attendee of Lakeview Covenant Church in Duluth. Her dedication and deep love for the Lord shone in everything she did, and Annette became a cornerstone and a wonderful example for many, including her own family, which she constantly uplifted through prayer. She would often host prayer meetings in her home and performed several spiritual deliverances for those who needed it. Unquestionably, she now rests with her family in the arms of Christ.

Just like her mother, Annette enjoyed the beauty of nature and was an avid gardener, tending to it even into her 90s. Her grandchildren grew up helping her pull the pesky weeds that would often sprout up between cracks and rocks, and her yard and flower gardens were a staple on 18th Street for many years. Whether it was her beds of lilies, hydrangeas or tulips, the Wise household was not without beauty as long as Annette was in charge of it.

Annette was preceded in death by her husband, Mike; parents, August and Catherine Nelson; siblings, Emily Grider, Willard, Henry and Katherine Hamilton, and Doris Charon.

She is survived by her son, Gary (Anne) Wise of Duluth; daughters, Wendy (Dave) Boyle of Phoenix, Becky (Larry) Wise-Champeaux of Cloquet, and Kristine (Jeffrey)

Papas of Cloquet. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Michael (Daneil) Papas, Kate Boyle

(Joseph) Castellanos, and Kirsten

Annette Papas.

A private family service will be held for Annette on her birthday, Aug. 21, arranged by Atkins-Northland Funeral Home in Cloquet. Her internment will be at the New Calvary Cemetery in Cloquet. To sign a guest book and leave an online tribute, visit http://www.atkinsnorthlandfuneralhome.com.

Pine Knot News, Aug. 9, 2024