Weldon Michael

Weldon "Bill" Michael, age 87, of Pine River, passed away on October 3, 2017, at the VA Nursing Home in St. Cloud, MN. Bill was born on D-Day, June 6, 1930, to Hazel and Tommy Michael in Ruthven, IA. He was a junior in college at Buena Vista in Storm Lake, IA, when he was drafted into the Army. Bill served in the Korean War spending 18 months underground doing top secret work tracking the enemy by air and on the ground. He finished his senior year of college at University of Northern Colorado in Greeley then went into an administrative graduate program in Omaha, NE, graduating with a Master's Degree. He earned most of his PhD from South Dakota. Bill was the elementary principal in Pine River for 11 years, then moved to the Red Lake Reservation serving as high school principal for 4 years.

Bill and his wife, Jan, moved to Wainwright, Alaska, and lived with and taught the Inupiat Eskimos on the Chukchi Sea. Barrow, AK, was his school district home base. They lived there for 3 years then transferred to Anaktuvuk Pass for the last 7 years of their careers where Jan taught first and second grade and Bill taught junior and senior high school. They retired in 1992 and moved back to Pine River.

Bill is survived by his son, Shawn Michael (Joy Smoot); grandson, Kodi Michael; three great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jan; son, Dana; daughter, Dawn "Cookie"; and sister, Wanda Shirk.

Services will be 2 PM on Saturday, October 21, at Riverview Church, Pine River. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.