Dennis Jacob Randelin

Service Above Self

Dennis Jacob Randelin, 69, of Cloquet, Minn., passed away Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet. He was born Oct. 19, 1943, in Duluth, Minn., to Kenneth and Muriel (Gault) Randelin. He moved to Cloquet in 1946 and graduated from Cloquet High School in 1961. Denny was united in marriage to Alice Niskanen in Dec. 1962 until her death in 1985. He worked as assistant produce manager at Shoppers City in 1962, and joined the Cloquet Fire Department in July 1966. He was active with the ambulance services and was one of the original 88 Professional Rescue Instructors of Minnesota, which was the basis for the first EMT program in the state of Minnesota. He joined the Cloquet Police Department in September 1969. Denny was promoted to patrol sergeant in 1972 and then Supervisor of Investigations and Juveniles in 1976. He also served on the Cloquet School Board from 1978-1982, serving as chairman of Carlton County's nine school districts' Special Education Cooperative and vice chairman of the Area Vocational Cooperative. During his time in the police department, he co-wrote the grant establishing the Carlton County Crisis Shelter and served as chairman of the board for 10 years. Denny was involved in the development of many projects for youth programs. He wrote the grant establishing the Carlton County Emergency Response Team and served as lead hostage negotiator. Denny was in charge of the School Police Safety Patrol. He was united in marriage to Becky Simula in September 1987. In February 1997, he retired from the Cloquet Police Department with the rank of detective sergeant. After retiring, he felt the need to continue to serve his community and was elected mayor of Carlton in November 1999, serving eight years. He also served on the Carlton County Economic Development Advisory Board. Denny was president of the local Carlton Development Corporation and active with that organization until his death. He was a member of Carlton Area Chamber of Commerce where he served on the board of directors. Denny received the 2002 Volunteer of the Year Award and recognition awards in 2005 and 2007. He was a member of the Cloquet Rotary and chairman of the Junior Rotarian and Camp RYLA programs. He was named Rotarian of the Year for 2003 and 2005 and was treasurer from 2004-2012. He was recognized by the Cloquet Rotary Club with a bench placed in his honor in the Carton Bike Park.

Denny was preceded in death by his father, Kenneth Randelin; brother, David Randelin; grandparents, Marion and Geneva Gault, and Jacob (Jack) and Hannah Randelin; and his uncle, Charles Randelin.

He is survived by the love of his life, his loving wife, Becky; daughters, Ginny (Mike) Yagoda of Duluth and Sherry (Tim) Richardson of Cloquet; mother, Muriel Randelin of Farmington, Minn.; sister, Teresa (Tom) Tan of Apple Valley, Minn.; brother Dale (Anita) Randelin of Osceola, Wis.; seven grandchildren, Brittany (Nick Spina), Shane and Rachel Yagoda, and Amanda, Jared, Hannah and Jacob Richardson; great-grandson, Easton; in-laws, Vern Simula, Harry Murphy and Naomi Brigan; brothers-in-law, Dr. Dan (Kim) Simula of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Erik (Dawn) Simula of Grand Marais, Minn.; and many nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.

The family wishes to thank the doctors and staff who were such an important part of Denny's life. Not only have these talented and caring people prolonged his life physically, they encouraged and enabled him to live fully despite his physical limitations. They include Dr. Mark Neustel, Linda Wick, Nancy Gilbert, and Denise Buxbaum from Essentia's Regional Heart Center; Dr. Tom Maddy and Diane Kolquist from Essentia's Nephrology Department; Dr. Josefino Diaz and Dr. Ann Sudoh, also from Essentia Health Care; the transplant, follow-up care and cardiovascular teams from Hennepin County Medical Center; Rosie Korzeniowski, Inger Wolf and Ryan Sharrow from Gentiva Home Health; and Dr. Vollmar, Linda Lindquist and everyone involved from the CMH Pain Management Clinic.

Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Sunday, March 24, at Nelson Funeral Care, 1004 Cloquet Ave., Cloquet, and resume Monday, March 25, from noon until the 1 p.m. funeral service at Good Hope Church, 55 Armory Road, Cloquet. A reception and time of fellowship will follow in the community room at Evergreen Knoll, 1309 14th St., Cloquet.

This is a celebration of Denny's life, please bring a favorite story and wear casual clothing.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Cloquet Junior Rotarian Scholarships, Essentia Regional Heart Center, or any Carlton/Cloquet area charity of choice.

The family has selected Nelson Funeral Care of Cloquet to assist them with arrangements. See the family online guest book at www.nelsonfuneralcare.net.

March 28, 2013 ~ Pine Journal, Cloquet, Minn.

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