Harold Tikkanen of Tikkanen Road, Calumet, age 97, died at home on July 27, 2015. He died in the room he had been born in on December 7, 1917, the son of Mary (Saari) and Charles Tikkanen. He was the eight child in a family of eleven: Seymour, Drusilla (Holme), Armand, Judith (Karna), Sylvia (Huhta), Peter, Walter, Harold, Alan, Helen (Erickson), and Paul and was raised on the family farm.

Following graduation from Calumet High School in 1937 he moved to Detroit to join brothers and cousins working in the factories. In December of 1941 he volunteered for the Army Air Corp immediately after Pearl Harbor which had occurred on his 24th birthday and was assigned as a flight engineer on B-24 “Liberators” and B-29 (Super Fortress’) in Dothan, Alabama where he would remain for the duration of the war. It was in Dothan where on April 3, 1942 he married the red headed girl he had met in Detroit, Emma Jean “Terry” Tikkanen and where their first child Oren was born. Following the war the young family moved back to Detroit where Harold worked in small engine repair and their second child, Patricia, was born. In 1948 Harold moved his family north to what he always considered “home” living first in Kearsarge north of Calumet where son Thomas was added to the family and then to the family farm south of Calumet in 1955.
Harold worked as a miner for Calumet and Hecla from 1949 until 1965 working mostly in the Centennial Mine. Although always acknowledging that mining was hard and could be dangerous work he enjoyed the toughness of the physical labor, the camaraderie of the men he worked with, and the power of dynamite. He had many stories of mining and loved to share them in more recent years as a volunteer docent at the Coppertown USA Mining Museum in Calumet and visitors counted themselves as lucky if they were there to hear him talk about his mining days. He left mining in 1965 to take a job with the United States Postal Service working the desk in the Calumet office, walking routes through Calumet and Laurium and retiring from the Laurium post office in 1983. His remarkable memory was such that at that time he could tell you who lived at almost any address in the Calumet and Laurium area. He and his wife Terry were also farmers having at times several houses of chickens, field of strawberries, and a beautiful raspberry patch.

Harold was a member of the Faith Lutheran Church in Laurium where he served on the church council for eight years. He was also a leader in the Bethel Bible Study program which required two years of study and two years of teaching. At this time he would take his Bible verse cards to work at the post office and have his co-workers grill him during their lunch hours. He also always loved singing and while he had a wide repertoire of songs for which he knew all the lyrics in the last few years he usually started the day with a favorite hymn or two and his grandchildren remember that when they stayed at the farm he would wake them up to a rousing hymn if he felt they were sleeping too late. Harold was also a member of the American Legion and the Keweenaw Lions and in the past had been active in the Farm Bureau and had served as a 4-H Leader.

Harold and his wife Terry were also skilled and graceful social dancers which they started learning by joining a square dance club in the early 1960’s. Soon they were dancing several nights a week and this brought them much pleasure right up until Terry became disabled from Parkinson’s disease. At that time Harold turned his attention and skills to being a wonderful and gentle caretaker for Terry until her death in 2001. After her death dancing became again a major source of fun and socialization for Harold and he found a new set of friends at the South Range Eagles where he regularly attended the Sunday night dances and became a member. He danced there and in other venues up until his 95th year with a particular liking for accordion music. Crossword puzzles, tree planting, and chopping wood were other activities he enjoyed.
Harold was preceded in death by his parents and all ten siblingsand their spouses; his wife, Terry Tikkanen; his daughter-in-law, Toni Tikkanen; and his son-in-law, Donald J Curto. He is survived by his three children, Oren, Patricia, and Thomas (Babette) Tikkanen all of Calumet; grandsons Josh Tikkanen(Jennifer) of Grand Rapids, Minnesota and Rudy Tikkanen of Calumet; granddaughters Christina Tikkanen currently working overseas and Rebecca Tikkanen of Yuma, Arizona, and great grandson Garren Tikkanen of Grand Rapids, Minnesota; cousin Norma Bjorn of Mohawk; godchildren and “adopted” grandchildren Mona Wijayratne (Dunes) of Seattle, Washington, Ian McDowell of Calumet, and Audrey Carpenter (Adam) of Madison, Wisconsin; and numerous nieces and nephews many of whom were faithful visitors in his decline.

The family expresses appreciation to Thomas McConnon MD, the staff of UP Health Systems Portage Hospice, and home caregivers Ian McDowell and Brittany Bushey for the excellent care provided to Harold that allowed him to remain comfortably at home and to die there, his final wish.

Visitation will be held at the Faith Lutheran Church on Depot Street in Laurium on Thursday July 30, 2015 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM with military rites conducted at 7:45 PM. Visitation will also be held on Friday, July 31, 2015 at the church from 3:00 PM until time of the funeral service at 4:00 PM with Reverend Peter Vohes officiating. Following the funeral there will be a supper and time of socialization held in the church hall. Memorial gifts may be directed to the Faith Lutheran Church Stained Glass Window Preservation Project.

The Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home in Calumet is assisting the family with the arrangements.

Online condolences can be left for the family at www.ericksoncrowleypeterson.com

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