Owen Matt Koski

Funeral service for Owen M. Koski, 93, of Eveleth, formerly of Aurora, will be 11am Friday at the United Methodist Church in Aurora with Rev. Barbara Hegfors officiating. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial with military honors accorded by the Aurora/Hoyt Lakes Color Guard will be in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Aurora. Mr. Koski died Mon. Jan. 18, 2010 in the Eveleth Health Services Park. He was born Oct. 15, 1916 in Aurora, MN to Matt and Aliina (Puera) Koski. He was a 1935 graduate of Aurora High School and later attended welding school at Western Air College in California. He also attended night school at Superior State University. Owen was a WWII Army veteran and during that time worked in the shipyards in California and Superior, WI. On May 25, 1940 he married Myrtle Aronen. He worked at the St. James Mine in Aurora and later worked for Erie Mining Company in Hoyt Lakes. He retired from there in 1979 with 23 years of service. On Feb. 15, 1997 he married Irja Fondie. He was a member of the United Methodist Church, Iron Range Chapter of the Minnesota Senior Federation, the American Legion Post 241, the Aurora Senior Citizens and SOAR. Survivors include his wife: Irja; son: John (Atrina) Koski of Fargo, ND; grandchildren: Michael (Della) Koski, Jennifer (Darwin) Meyer, Terri McIntyre and Lisa Nielsen; 10 Great Grandchildren; his step-children: Joe (Diane) Fondie of Skibo, Julie (Dale) Norby of Aurora, Dixie Mengelkoch of Mpls., Linda (Denny Mickelson) LaCount of Hoyt Lakes; Jerry (Vicki) Fondie of Mpls and Jack (Dalinda) Fondie of New York; numerous step-grandchildren, He was preceded in death by his parents; a son in infancy; his first wife: Myrtle; sister: Mae Beck; brother-in-law: Art; daughter-in-law: Mary Jo Ceglar