Obituaries
Leslie 'Les' McClelland
Feb 3, 2026
Leslie “Les” Ray McClelland was born on August 20, 1946, in Minneapolis and passed away peacefully on February 3, 2026, at the age of 79, following a courageous journey with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Les was preceded in death by his parents, Dorothy E. (Frear) and Reginold E. McClelland.
He is lovingly survived by his wife, Dianne K. (Zeidler) McClelland; his children,...
Duane Strack
Mar 9, 2026
Duane A. Strack, age 83, of Motley formally of St. Cloud and Lake Alexander passed away on March 9, 2026.
Duane was born January 28, 1943, to Sylvester and Veronica (Dockendorf) Strack in St. Cloud, MN. Duane lived on a farm in Stearns County, raised and educated in St. Cloud and was a retired Municipal Sales Representative for DeZurk in Sartell....
Vernon Ferrian
Mar 6, 2026
Vernon Alvin Ferrian, 85, passed away on March 6, 2026, at Woodland Good Samaritan in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Vernon was born on May 11, 1940, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Frank and Lorraine Gertrude (Bertram) Ferrian. On September 2, 1963, he was united in marriage to Carolyn Ann Bruder in Long Prairie, Minnesota. Together they built a life centered around family, work ethic,...
Joyce Wagner
Mar 11, 2026
Joyce Ann Wagner, 84, of Baxter, passed away on March 11, 2026.
Joyce was born on June 25, 1941, in Brainerd, Minnesota, to Alvin and Lillian (Rasmussen) Theien.
Joyce is survived by her son, Craig of Brainerd; her daughter, Kristin (Richard) Woods of Pillager; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; two sisters, Janice of Rogers and DeEtte of Fridley; one brother, Norman of Hot...
Donald Etzler
Mar 9, 2026
Donald D. Etzler Born October 25th 1950, age 75 of Lincoln, MN arrived at Heavens Gate Truck Stop at Mile Marker 111, on March 9th 2026.
He started driving truck at the age of 17, enjoyed woodworking, watching old western movies, operating CAT equipment, sharing stories, jokes, and tales of the road. The open road was his love, setting the brakes...
Grace Anderson
Mar 7, 2026
Grace Erna Anderson, age 101 ½, of Pine River, MN, passed away peacefully on March 7, 2026, at the Good Samaritan Society in Pine River.
Grace was born to Charles and Grace Habeck on September 22, 1924, in Jackson, MN. She had three brothers and three sisters and grew up in Round Lake, MN, graduating from Round Lake High School. Grace...
Richard Philipson
Mar 6, 2026
Richard Elmer Philipson, age 73, of Brainerd, passed away on March 6, 2026.
Richard was born on May 20, 1952, in San Diego, California, to Richard and Barbara (Havick) Philipson. He later found the love of his life, Debbie Adams, and the two were united in marriage on February 14, 1986, in Harvard, Illinois. Together they built a life centered around...
Richard Arones
Mar 5, 2026
Richard Arones, age 87, of Pine River, MN, passed away on March 5, 2026, in Duluth, MN.
Richard is survived by his wife, Ingrid; son, Bret (Donna) Arones; daughter, Lani (Jeff) Harty; grandchildren, Jennifer, Krystal, Savannah, Corey, and Britta; and great-grandchildren, Carson, Austin, Harper, and Hazel.
Barbara Marlene Mares
Mar 5, 2026
Barbara Marlene Mares, 74, of Pillager, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on March 5th, 2026, surrounded by family.
Barbara was born January 21st, 1952, in Brainerd, Minnesota, to Howard and Bernice Gillson. She lived most of her life in Pillager and the surrounding area, where she built a life centered on service, creativity, and love for her family.
She graduated from Pillager High...
Phyllis Duval
Mar 4, 2026
Phyllis A. Duval passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family, on March 4, 2026.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 AM on Friday, March 20, 2026, at Immaculate Heart Catholic Church in Crosslake. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will follow at Pinewood Cemetery.
Phyllis was born on September 17,...
Frederick Hines
Mar 4, 2026
Frederick Douglas Hines, 63, of Hopkins, passed away on March 4, 2026. He was born on September 14, 1962, in Chicago, to Joel and Precious (Butler) Hines.
Fred had a passion for drag racing and could often be found working on cars. He also had a deep interest in CB radios, bowling and fishing. When it was time to relax, Fred...
Jonathan Spurbeck
Mar 3, 2026
Jonathan “Jon” “Grizz” Hugh Spurbeck, 70, passed away on March 3, 2026
A Celebration of Life will be held in the activities room at Janet’s apartment complex on March 14, 2026 from 1:00-6:00PM. 5500 Boone Ave N, New Hope MN 55428
A funeral service will be held at the Brenny Family Funeral Chapel in Baxter on March 28, 2026 at 11:00 AM...
Frank Fussy
Mar 3, 2026
Frank Fussy, lovingly known as “King Cat,” passed away on March 3, 2026, in Staples.
Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at Holy Family Catholic Church in Little Falls, MN. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church, as well as on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, from...
Jim Noehring
Feb 28, 2026
Jim Noehring, 58, of Brainerd, Minnesota, passed away on February 28, 2026.
Born on September 7, 1967, Jim filled his life with music, family, and friends.
Jim is survived by his longtime life companion, Kristen Krueger, who shared his love for almost 25 years. He also leaves behind his cherished bonus children, Devan and Sydney. The grandchildren were a big part of...
Wendy Reed
Feb 28, 2026
Wendy Lou Reed passed away peacefully in her home in rural Remer, MN, surrounded by her family on February 28, 2026.
Born on September 10, 1958, in Moose Lake, MN, Wendy went on to graduate from Bemidji State University with a Bachelor’s Degree. On May 27, 1977, she married the love of her life, Gene, with whom she shared nearly 49...
Pamela Polchow
Feb 28, 2026
Pamela Joy Polchow, age 76, of Crosslake, passed peacefully into God’s hands on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at Essentia Health following health complications.
Pam was born on September 18, 1949. In July 2025, she made the heartfelt decision to move to the Crosslake area to be closer to her family. Though her time there was brief, she embraced it fully. Pam...
Curtis Carl Zimmerman
Feb 28, 2026
Curtis Zimmerman passed away Saturday February 28, 2026. He was 86 years old.
Curt was born on March 24, 1939, in Bottineau, North Dakota to Carl and Doris (Brandt) Zimmerman. He was the youngest of two sons. They were raised on a small dairy farm in Willow City. In their high school years the brothers were talented basketball players. They were...
Dale H. Tracy
Feb 27, 2026
Dale Tracy, 90, of Pequot Lakes, MN, passed away on February 27, 2026 in Pequot Lakes. Arrangements for a memorial service are pending at this time.
A full obituary will be posted soon.
Larry Daniel Gifford
Feb 25, 2026
Larry Daniel Gifford
September 24, 1940 – February 25, 2026
Larry Daniel Gifford, age 85, of Pierz, MN, passed away peacefully on February 25, 2026, at Harmony House in Pierz. He was born on September 24, 1940, in Lynch, Nebraska (Boyd County), to Charles L. Gifford and Mildred (Hansen) Gifford. He was raised with a deep sense of faith, resilience, hard work,...
Sandra Kay Rasmussen
Feb 22, 2026
Sandra Kay Rasmussen, 72, of Staples, passed away on February 22, 2026. Private family services will be held.
