Cloquet Educational Foundation

09/25/2026

Class of 1961
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Dennis R. Olson, 83, of Cloquet, MN passed away with family by his side at Barnes Care Assisted Living in Esko on Tuesday, September 15th, 2026.

He was born September 16th, 1942, in Cloquet to Raymond and Bernice (Trettel) Olson. Dennis graduated from Cloquet High School in 1961. Following high school, he served in the United States Army from 1964-1966. He was united in marriage to Roberta Goad on April 29th, 1967. He worked at Potlach for 42 years in the boiler department.

Dennis loved to hunt and fish with his uncles, cousins, and grandchildren. He especially enjoyed the annual Gunflint fishing trip with his uncle Cyril. He also enjoyed riding motorcycles with his wife and the groups they belonged to. Dennis also had an interest in flying his RC model airplanes.
Dennis is preceded in death by his parents; wife, Roberta "Birdie"; brother, Larry; sons-in-law, Troy Lind & Larry Laveau.

He is survived by his daughters, Teresa Lind, Stephanie (Gary) Gatewood, and Krista Laveau; grandchildren, Kaylee, Keshia, Mika, and Jagger (Kristin); great-grandchildren, Malakai, Mason, Trinity, Christian, Raelynn, Rayne-bow, Delilah, and Henry; siblings; Dale Olson, Kris (Cheryl) Olson, Karen Nelson, and Wendy (Dale) Gilbertson; Aunt Liz Beck; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other extended family and loved ones.

The family thanks the staff from Barnes Care Assisted Living and St. Croix Hospice for their care for Dennis.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, September 24th, 2026, at Nelson Funeral Care from 5-7 PM, and will continue Friday, September 25th at 10 AM. Funeral service will follow, with interment and military honors at New Calvary Cemetery in Cloquet, MN. Luncheon will be held following the interment at his residence. The family invites you to wear your favorite Western, flannel, or hunting shirt.

09/22/2026

The family of Steve Johnson, a CHS graduate of 1970, held a golf fundraiser, “Steve’s Birdie Bash,” in his memory on August 28, 2026.

The event was a tremendous success, and some of the proceeds were generously donated to the CEF. According to Steve’s wife, Kris, “Steve would be thrilled that we are giving funds back to his hometown educational system.”

We are incredibly grateful and humbled by the family’s generosity. Their kindness is a wonderful way to honor Steve’s memory while giving back to the community and supporting local education.

09/02/2026

The CEF will miss Dick's wisdom, guidance, and commitment to generations of Cloquet students.

Richard J. “Dick” Brenner was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and proud Cloquet resident. He passed away surrounded by his family.

Dick’s family was always at the center of his life. He was the loving husband of Elizabeth Brenner and a devoted father to Steve (Kim) Brenner, Robert (Sharon) Brenner, Susan (Mike) Granlund, Michelle (Brian) Foster, Thomas (Michelle) Brenner, and Jackie (Tom) Johnson. Later in life, Liz’s daughters, Laura (Kevin) Saastamoinen and Robin (Dick) Kretchmer, became an important and much-loved part of his family. Dick was a proud “Gramps” to 12 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren and took great joy in watching his family grow.

Dick loved Cloquet and believed in giving back to the community that had given so much to him and his family. He served 17 years on the Cloquet School Board, including as chairman, and was one of the founders of the Cloquet Educational Foundation. He was especially proud of helping to create a foundation that would continue to support Cloquet students for generations.

He later served 32 years as a Carlton County Commissioner. Along the way, he served on numerous community and regional boards and organizations, always looking for ways to make Cloquet and Carlton County a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

Dick also knew how to enjoy life. He was a passionate sports fan, a longtime season-ticket holder for the Minnesota Vikings, UMD Bulldogs, and Duluth Huskies, and rarely missed the Minnesota State High School Hockey and Basketball Tournaments. He loved sharing those experiences with his children and, later, his grandchildren.

Golf was another great love. A longtime member of the Cloquet Country Club, Dick was particularly proud of his home on the tenth tee, adjacent to the small piece of land he donated to the club when the back nine was developed. And if you knew Dick, you knew about the golf balls. His basement collection of thousands was legendary.

Dick will be remembered for his love of family, his loyalty to Cloquet, his willingness to serve, and his belief that you should leave things a little better than you found them. He was fond of saying, “I lived, I did some good things, and then I died.” Simple, understated, and very much Dick—it may also be the best way to sum up a life well lived.

Dick is also survived by his siblings Tom, Shirley, John, Margaret, Joan, and Carol. He was preceded in death by his parents and great-granddaughter, Lennox Granlund.

There will be a Celebration of Life on September 9th, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Buffalo House in Duluth, MN. We look forward to honoring and celebrating together during this special time.

The family extends their heartfelt thanks to the staff at St. Croix Hospice, Fresenius Kidney Care Cloquet, and Essentia Health for their care. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cloquet Educational Foundation’s Dick and Elizabeth Brenner Endowment for Quality Education.

09/01/2026

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SAVE THE DATE

Cloquet Class of 1977
50th Class Reunion
📍 Buffalo House
📅 Saturday, July 31, 2027

More details to come!

Come celebrate 50 years of memories, friendship, and the Class of ’77!

08/24/2026

Class of 1960
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John Francis Luke, 82, of Rock Hill, South Carolina died suddenly from a stroke Aug.16, 2026, at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Born Oct. 2, 1943 in Cloquet, John was the first son of Raymond and Edna Luke. He grew up in Cloquet and met his wife, Bonnie Haislip, in high school. They graduated in 1960 and married. John enlisted in the Air Force where he became familiar with the electrical system of B-52 bombers. Four years later, he entered civilian life and realized there wasn't a lot of demand for B-52 electrical system technicians. So he used his military veteran benefits to learn computer programming at vocational college in Duluth.

For the next 50 years he implemented time-phased inventory control programs for major corporations internationally.

John will be remembered for his steadfast character and his dry wit. Until a few years ago, he was an avid golfer who preferred walking to riding in a cart. He always kept himself busy with Excel spreadsheets or fixing the house.

He was an active member in St. Mary's Catholic Church and volunteered with its outreach program.

He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Bonnie; his children, Jennifer and Jeffrey; and his grandchildren, Spencer, Taylor, Kami and John Paul. He is also survived by his siblings, Mary Plante, Diane Charon, Dan, Rick and Tom Luke; as well as many extended family members and friends. His beloved dogs, FeFe and Rita, whom he had hoped to housebreak before he passed away, will miss him.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Kathy Ahlgren; sister-in-law, Sulu; and his brothers-in-law, Al, Roy and Ron.

A mass will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29 at 902 Crawford Road in Rock Hill. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John Luke's memory to St. Mary's Outreach at 902 Crawford Road, Rock Hill, SC 29730 or Oaks Recovery at PO Box 50023, Greenwood, SC 29649.

08/18/2026

It was another great day out on the links—“fore” the kids! ⛳💙

A huge thank you to everyone who participated, sponsored a sign, volunteered, or helped make this event such a success. Your generosity and support truly make a difference for the kids!

A special thank you to the Cloquet Country Club, Members Cooperative Credit Union, and Carmen's for hosting such a wonderful day.

We are so grateful to everyone who came together to support the kids. Thank you for helping make a difference! ❤️

08/17/2026

Come join us for coffee, conversation, and catching up with fellow retirees!

Save the date—we hope to see you there!

08/10/2026

Class of 1964
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Jacquelyn Marie Hebert passed away peacefully with her loving family by her side on Thursday, May 21, 2026.

Jackie was born on August 15, 1946, in Minneapolis and was mainly raised in Cloquet, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by her parents, Harvey and Irene Hebert of Cloquet, MN, and her former husband, Otto F. Kraft of Tequesta, FL.

Jackie lived a full and vibrant life centered around family, community, friendship, and her love of learning. A proud graduate of Cloquet High School, Class of 1964, she was active in many school activities, cheerleader, glee club, and foxy trotters. In 1966, she was honored to be named Miss Northwestern Bell for the Aquatennial Celebration. She took on the role of Cloquet High School Hockey Statistician for both Tom “Mac” McFarlane and David Esse, and was CHS’s Speech Team Coach 1988-89, where many of the individuals participated in the State Tournament. Jackie later graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1988, though she always was a MN Gopher.

Throughout her life, Jackie dedicated herself to helping others. She worked for Carlton and St. Louis County Human Services, where she made lasting impacts on many lives. Still, the role she treasured most was being a mother and grandmother.

Jackie was deeply involved in her children’s activities as a Brownie and Girl Scout Leader, a Cub Scout Den Mother, PTA member and steadfast supporter of her family and community. She enjoyed painting, knitting, sewing and was an avid reader who especially loved a good mystery novel.

A lifelong hockey fan, Jackie passionately followed Cloquet Lumberjack Hockey, University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey, and the Minnesota Wild. She never missed an opportunity to attend the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. She also cherished traveling and spending time with her close high school girlfriends, Carole, Kris, Diane, Karen and Janet.

Jackie is very much and will continue to be missed by her family and friends including her daughter, Jaime (Kollin) Schammel; her son, Fritz Kraft; grandchildren Alexis Kraft (Sam Betterley), Austin Kraft, Nate Schammel, Nick Schammel, Luke Schammel, and Nick Kelly. She is survived by many cousins and dear friends, including Fritz Angst of Jupiter, Florida.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the caring staff at Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth for their compassion and support.

A Celebration of Life luncheon is planned for Saturday, August 15th, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., at the Cloquet Senior Center.

08/10/2026

08/04/2026

The Cloquet Educational Foundation is seeking a new executive director!

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