George Walter Bottila, 84, of Moose Lake, formerly of McGregor, East Lake area, died Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006, in Mercy Hospital, Moose Lake. The ninth of 10 children, George was born July 8, 1922, in East Lake to Jacob and Mary (Silampa) Bottila. He graduated from McGregor High School in 1940. George was an Air Force veteran serving his country during World War II. After the war he went to work in the logging camps in Isabella. On June 24, 1950, he married Margaret Luukkonen in Superior. They made their home in Cloquet while George worked at Northwest Paper Company. By 1954 George moved back to his home place in East Lake. There he farmed and logged. He also drove school bus for the McGregor School District from 1960 until his retirement in 1984. George was also the fire warden for Rice River for many years.
George was preceded in death by his son, Kevin, on Oct. 5, 2005; his sisters, Daisy Layon, Stella Rosbacka, and Tillie Tuura; and brothers, John and Hjalmer Bottila.
George was deeply loved and will be sadly missed by his wife of 56 years, Margaret; his daughter, Shanna (Ken) Dahlberg of Moose Lake; grandchildren, Angela (Isaac) Gran of Moose Lake, Tanya (Taggert) Medgaarden of Austin, Minn., and Chad (Greta) Dahlberg of Alden, Minn; great-grandchildren, Carter and Ava Gran; brother, William (Helen) Bottila of Barnum; and his sisters, Elina Bodie of Carlton, Ailie Davidson of Two Harbors and Florence Felver of Tracy, Calif.
Visitation was held from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, in Northland Funeral Home, Cloquet, and continued Saturday, Dec. 16, from 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. funeral service in the United Methodist Church in McGregor with a flag presentation by the Moose Lake Honor Guard. Burial was in Rice River Cemetery in Rice River Township.
Arrangements entrusted to Northland Funeral Home, 801 14th Street, Cloquet. To sign the guest book and offer an online tribute, see www.northlandfuneralhome.com .
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December 20, 2006
- Cloquet, Minn.
