Remembering our Ten Mile Lake Friends

Lydia A. Adams

Lydia A. Adams, 98, of Ames, Iowa, and a summer resident of Ten Mile Lake, died Sunday, October 8, 2000 at Israel Family Hospice House in Ames of complications of pneumonia.

Mrs. Adams was born August 14, 1902, in Nevada, Iowa to Emmett S. and Anna Fay (Lock-ridge) Armstrong. In 1925 she married Chevalier V. Adams in Ames. She was a 75-year member of Chapter AA, P.E.O. She was also a member of the United Church of Christ, Congregational; Pi Beta Phi sorority; the Iowa State Cyclone Club; Order of the Knoll, and Craft Club, and in 1989 was selected Cy's Favorite Alum. She established several scholarship funds, and provided a room at the Hospice House as well as the Chev Adams Children's Art Classroom at the Octagon.

Mrs. Adams is survived by one sister, Juliette Armstrong of Des Moines; five nephews, and three nieces. She was preceded in death by her husband, Chev; one daughter, Anna Fay Adams; two sons, Jay L. and Chevalier G. Adams; four brothers; three sisters; one nephew; one niece; and her parents.

Following funeral services at the United Church of Christ, Congregational, in Ames, she was buried in the Ames Municipal Cemetery.

(Walker Pilot-Independent, October 12, 2000)

Ruth F. M. Anderson

Ruth F. M. (Johnson) Anderson, 81, of Hackensack, MN and formerly of Minneapolis, died May 5 at Bethany Good Samaritan Village in Brainerd.

Mrs. Anderson is survived by her husband, Arnie; daughter Judee (Terry) LaBissoniere; grandchildren, Matthew, and Britt (Tom) Hoverman; great-grand-children Abby and Will; and many other relatives and friends.

Memorial services were held May 10 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Wayzata.

(Walker Pilot-Independent, May 10, 2001)

Estrid E. Brown

Estrid E. Brown of Bloomington, Minnesota, died on November 22, 2000 of natural causes, at the Friendship Village Lifecare Facility in Bloomington, at the age of 97. She had been for 74 years a summer resident and vacationer on Ten Mile Lake. Estrid was born September 23, 1903 in Beaver Falls, PA to Victor and Ida (Carlson) Johnson. Following the death of her father in an industrial accident she moved with her mother and brother to be near her mother=s brothers and sisters. She graduated from South High School in Minneapolis.

Estrid loved the out-of-doors and was skilled at canoeing, fishing, swimming, and ice skating. She and a friend owned a birch bark canoe which they kept on the Mississippi River under the Franklin Avenue Bridge, where, in those days, it was safe. Her ice skating abilities were noticed by Oscar Johnson, of Shipstead and Johnson fame, who asked her to join the Ice Follies, but her stern Swedish mother believed that was not a proper place for a young lady and refused to allow her to sign a contract with the Follies.

In the 1920's, Estrid worked at the Loose Wild Biscuit Company in Minneapolis (later named the Sunshine Biscuit Company) where she met Ralph H. Brown. They were married in 1926 and spent part of their honeymoon camping on the east shore of Long Bay on Ten Mile Lake, on property owned by Henry and May Hoban (aunt and uncle to Dorothy Beasley). From 1927 to 1951, Estrid and Ralph, later with their two sons, were summer vacationers at Hustle Inn (later, Happiness Lodge and now Happiness Resort.) In 1952 they bought the Hoban property where they had spent their honeymoon. Ralph died in 1985 and Estrid sold the property in 1986. During the last fourteen years she has been an occasional visitor at the home of her son and daughter-in-law, Don and Margaret Brown, on Ten Mile Lake.

Estrid is survived by two sons, Donald (Margaret) of Ten Mile Lake and Robert (Barbara) of Brooklyn Center, MN; three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Graveside services were held November 27, 2000 at Lakeside Cemetery in Minneapolis, with the Reverend Grady St. Dennis, Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, MN, officiating.

(Information provided by Donald Brown.)

Catherine (Kay) Cram

When Catherine (Kay) Cram, an inspirational, visionary and much-beloved mentor of hundreds of Minnesota women - as well as those elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad - turned 90 last year, she refused to allow friends to throw a birthday party for her. She did, however, agree to a birthday women's conference: "Inspiration from each other: How women can create, provoke and endure change to help craft sustainable, humane world cultures." Cram, of Maple Plain, died April 13 at a Brooklyn Center hospice from complications of a brain aneurism. She was 91.

She was born in Axtell, Nebraska, and came to Minneapolis in the 1930s to teach drama and speech at Northrop Collegiate School for Girls, now a part of of the Blake School. At Northrop, Cram met Helen Dalton, an instructor in riding, skating and dance. She would be Cram's partner in business and in life until her death in 1979.

In autumn 1945 they heard that Camp Hillaway was for sale on Ten Mile Lake in Cass County. They drove up to take a look. Snowed in overnight in St. Cloud, they agreed to pool their savings to buy the camp. Over the next 30 years, girls ages 6 to 18 came for riding, arts and crafts, singing, sailing and lessons in self-confidence. There were two sessions each summer, with as many as 100 girls per session. "There was the confidence that you could do whatever you set your mind to," said Jane Anderson Howard of Plymouth, who attended the camp from 1967 to 1972. When young women left the camp, their relationship with Cram often continued. "When we would come home from college, people would visit," Howard said. "We would always visit. We'd bring prospective grooms and then the babies. They were just part of people's lives."

After Camp Hillaway, Howard said, Cram became interested in the international state of women's rights, and in politics and world affairs of all kinds.

Kay was active in the Twin Cities arts and theatre communities, the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute, local and national politics where she worked for social justice, peace, stewardship of the earth and gender equity. Born in Nebraska, educated at Northwestern University, Kay taught creative dramatics and speech at Northrop Collegiate School for Girls, a predecessor of The Blake School in Minneapolis.

She became a benefactor of the International Women's Rights Action Watch Program at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. In 1991 she established the Cram-Dalton Scholarship Fund, which supports female international students as they earn master's degrees in public policy. So far, seven have participated in the fellowship, including women from Japan, China, Chile and Bangladesh. Arvonne Fraser, who spent several years as director of the program, asked to speak at Cram's birthday conference. "She (Cram) said, 'You've got to tell them to get involved. They've just got to get involved,'" Fraser said. At both Northrop and Hillaway, Kay called forth leaders among women long before it was popular -- or even probable -- to do so. She herself set an example throughout her life of compassionate leadership.

Cram is survived by her brother, Ben Art Cram of Maple Plain. A memorial service was planned for May 12 at the Humphrey Institute in Minneapolis. Memorials may be made to the Cram-Dalton Scholarship Fund, Development Office, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 301 19th Ave. S., Mpls, MN 55455.

See also here. (Information obtained from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 17, and April 28 under the by-line of Maria Elena Abaca.)

Walter John Gohman

Walter John Gohman, 89, of Ames, Iowa and a summer resident of Ten Mile Lake, died of a respiratory ailment Tuesday, October 24, at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames.

Mr. Gohman was born in Clear Lake, Minnesota and lived at Ten Mile Lake and Cedar Falls, Iowa, before moving to Ames in 1988. He was an associate professor at the University of Northern Iowa and taught at Price Lab School there before retiring. He was a member of the Iowa Education Association, National Science Association of Teachers, and American Association of Physics Teachers, and has participated in many national meetings for these organizations. He received the Excellence in Science Teaching Award from the State of Iowa and spent five years on "Iowa TV School Time" for "Ask the Scientists" on WOI-TV. He was a member of Bethesda Lutheran Church in Ames.

Mr. Gohman is survived by four sons: Richard, of Cottonwood, AR; Michael, of Pasadena, CA; James, of Ames; and Paul, of Stockton, CA. In addition he is survived by two brothers, Lester of Clear Lake and Clarence of St. Cloud; one sister, Juletta Klein of Jamestown, ND; ten grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Phyllis.

Following memorial services at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Ames, Mr. Gohman was buried at Clear Lake Cemetery, Clear Lake, MN.

(Information from the Des Moines Register, October 27, 2000.)

William C. Hagan

William C. Hagan passed away April 25 after a long illness that began in 1969. Bill was born on Feb. 9, 1931, the son of Fred and Madge Hagan of Fort Dodge, IA. From 1943 until his illness in 1969, Bill had spent summers at Ten Mile Lake in their cabin on the northwest side of the lake.

He was an avid fisherman and explored many of the small lakes surrounding Ten Mile. He stocked many of the smaller lakes with fish caught in Ten Mile. He was a graduate of Fort Dodge High School and Iowa State University, Ames.

He is survived by brothers and sisters-in-law James and Jean Hagan, Jack and Wilma Kay Hagan, and a sister, Beverly Van Skike, and numerous nephews and nieces.

(Information provided by Jim Schwartz.)

Joan E. Horn

Joan E. Horn, 57 of Waunakee, WI died December 30, 2000 at her winter home in Yuma, Arizona, after a courageous year-long battle with cancer.

She was born in Madison, Wisconsin on August 13, 1943 to John and Amy Wichman. She married Richard A. Horn on April 6, 1963 and resided in the Madison area until 1991. At that time she and her husband built a home on the east shore of Ten mile Lake. While Richard finished building their home, Joni worked for Johnson's Clothing in Walker. They loved living on Ten Mile Lake, but the call of their two granddaughters in Madison took them back to the Madison area in 1998.

Mrs. Horn is survived by her husband Richard; two sons, Todd (Heather) of Madison and Daniel (Carrie) of Baxter, MN.; and three granddaughters, Rebecca, Meghan, and Claire Joan. She is also survived by one sister, Jeannine Woodward of Wyoming, and one brother Rick Kvalheim of California. Memorial services were planned for both Yuma and Madison.

(Walker Pilot-Independent, January 18, 2001.)

Robert (Bob) Kay

Robert (Bob) Kay, former TMLA Board member and long time summer TML resident, died Saturday morning, March 17, 2001 in Arizona. Bob was born May 26, 1922, in Atlantic, Iowa, the son of Harry and Hattie Kay. He attended the University of Alabama and graduated from Drake University Law School in 1947, after serving three years in the U.S. Air Force. He married Alice Lou Wiese in 1947 and began his law practice in Clarion, Iowa. He served on many boards and was active in service organizations and his church, serving his community with the strength of his leadership and commitment. Bob and Alice retired to Green Valley, Arizona in the fall of 1992.

Bob is survived by his wife Alice, and three children; daughter Kathy and her husband Bill and their daughter Amy of Denver, CO; daughter Debby and her son Jason of Ames, IA; and son Brian and his wife Bonnie and their children Rachel and Kevin of St. Cloud, MN; and two brothers, Henry Kay and Gerald Kay of Atlantic, IA. A funeral service was held on March 23, 2001 at the United Methodist Church in Clarion. The family requested that memorials be sent to the clarion Memorial Hospital Foundation or the Ten Mile Lake Association.

See also here. (Information provided by the family, from the memorial service program.)

Leroy R. Knuths

Leroy R. Knuths, age 68, died January 14, 2001, in Scottsdale, following a second stroke. He was born December 15, 1932 near Rowan, IA where he grew up and graduated from high school. He attended college at Waldorf College and graduated from Drake University.

He married Shalmerdean (Shelly) Eckart; they moved to Minnetonka, MN where they had four children. In 1969, he and Shelly purchased a cabin on Birch Lake; in 1972 they moved to the beautiful North Shore of Ten Mile Lake. Late, in 1991, they moved to the East Shore of Ten Mile Lake to accommodate their growing family. Leroy loved watching his children and grandchildren enjoying Ten Mile Lake and viewing the glorious Ten Mile sunsets.

Leroy was the owner and CEO of Rosco Manufacturing Company in Madison, South Dakota. He was devoted to civic work. He also liked to attend the Men's Coffee when spending summers at Ten Mile Lake.

Leroy is survived by his wife, Shelly; sons Dr. Jay Knuths (Julie) of Duluth and Jon Knuths (Elizabeth) of Madison, SD; daughters Sina Koch (Tom) of Eden Prairie and Kara Egan (Tim) of Minneapolis, and seven grandchildren.

(Information provided by Shelly Knuths.)

Neva Pauline Milliken

Neva Pauline Milliken, 83, of Ames, Iowa and a summer resident of Ten Mile Lake, died Wednesday, September 27, 2000 at Israel Family Hospice House in Ames of Parkinson's disease. Mrs. Milliken was born on February 21, 1917 in rural Luther, Iowa, the daughter of Ray and Osa (Soderstrum) Tyler. She married Joseph Wayne Milliken on April 8, 1933. She was a member of Calvary United Methodist Church. She was also active in the Ames Women's Club. She is survived by one sister, Dorothy Sheldahl, of Slater, Iowa; six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, two sons, one sister, and one brother. Following a funeral service at Calvary United Methodist Church in Ames, she was buried in the Ames Municipal Cemetery.

See also here. (Information from the Walker Pilot-Independent.)

Doris N. Morton

Doris N. Morton of Mesa, Arizona, died May 4, 2001 in Mesa. She was born on December 7, 1912 to Nelson and Elma Hansen, in Council Bluffs, IA. With her husband, Stanford Morton, she enjoyed many years on the North Shore of Ten Mile Lake. Doris described Ten Mile as her favorite place on earth. Doris was known as a wonderful hostess and a caring neighbor.

Doris was preceded in death by her husband, Stanford, in 1993. She is survived by many nieces and nephews, and is remembered fondly by friends and neighbors on Ten Mile Lake and in Arizona.

(Information provided by Shelly Knuths.)

Lois Sandell

Lois Sandell, a former resident of Ten Mile Lake, former officer of the Association and honorary member of the TMLA, Inc. Board, passed away Saturday, March 10, 2001 at Woodrest Care Center in Walker.

She was born March 30, 1912 in Madrid, Iowa, to Charles and Sigrid (Carlson) Sundean. She attended school in Boone, Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa. She married Howard Sandell August 16, 1936, and lived in Nevada, Iowa. She spent 35 years as a home economics teacher before retiring to Ten Mile Lake in 1977. She was a member of P.E.O., Delta Kappa Gamma Society, Ten Mile Lake Association, Deep Portage Conservation Reserve and Hope Lutheran Church.

She is survived by one sister, Mildred Anderson of Rockford, Ill.; one son, John Sandell of Walker; and two grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband. A memorial service was held at the Hope Lutheran Church in Walker Saturday, March 24. Memorials are suggested to the Ten Mile Lake Association or the Hope Lutheran Church Building Fund.

See also here. (Walker Pilot-Independent.)

A Note from the Editor:

I would like to express my thanks to TMLA members who have sent me obituaries when members and significant friends of TML have died. It is very helpful to receive this information. I believe it is especially effective when you add information which pertains to life and associations at TML, if that does not appear in a hometown article. It is also helpful, when you send a newspaper clipping, if you note the full name of the newspaper, and the date on which the printed obituary appeared.

Thanks again!