Clarence M. Espeseth

Clarence was born on January 30, 1920 in Roseau County to Knute and Alma Espeseth.  He graduated from Roseau High School, and attended teacher training.  He played hockey for the Roseau Ram’s first hockey team, Bemidji State, and semi-pro for the Clover Leafs.  He served in the Army during WWII, worked on the Alaskan Highway, and was stationed in Europe.  Clarence married Kathrine “Kay” Brown of Warroad on July 12, 1946.  They lived in Badger and Clarence taught school.  He earned his master’s degree in school administration from NDSU. In 1952, Clarence and Kay moved to West Concord, where he became superintendent of schools.  He enjoyed growing up in a large family, and he and Kay raised seven children.  In 1965 they moved to Pine City, where he served as superintendent for K-12 and Pine Technical College, and on the board of the Minnesota State High School League.  After his retirement in 1982, he and Kay purchased a farm where they planted thousands of trees and dug several wildlife ponds.  He worked on conservation projects with the University of Minnesota. After 55 years of marriage, Kay died in 2002.  Shortly after her death, Clarence received an Outstanding Conservationist award; their hobby farm was described as a great example of conservation efforts. Clarence belonged to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, American Legion, VFW, and Pine City Lions Club.  As a board member of the Pine County Historical Society, he helped preserve and move the Rural School Museum to its present site.  He volunteered at the museum, sharing stories about rural school days.  Clarence enjoyed life, had many hobbies, and friends of all ages.  He loved being around people, and made others feel special.  Some of his hobbies included camping, fishing with family and friends, traveling, hunting, feeding and watching the birds, gardening, and planting trees.  In later years, he enjoyed his Arizona home, and meeting up with friends at routine gathering places around town. Clarence died on Monday, January 31st at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis after a short illness.  He was preceded in death by his wife Kay and son Steven, parents, infant siblings, brothers Joe and Kenneth, and sister Ruth Hagen.  He is survived by sisters Agnes Carlson of Erskine and Irene Storey of Apple Valley, and brother Clifford (Dot) of Stuart, FL; children Bob (Sue) Espeseth of Mounds View, Kristen (Dell) Gross of Pine City, Jeff (Patty) Espeseth of Pine City, Jerry (Pam) Espeseth of Mounds View, Gayle (Todd) Lantto of Chanhassen, Lisa (John) Meyer of Dayton, and New Zealand AFS student Ruth (Warren) Furniss of Australia and her family; grandchildren, great and great-great grandchildren including Chad, Allison, Andrew (Ashley), Miranda, Hannah, Jennifer, Steven, Daniel, and Katie Espeseth; Shawna Iverson; Angie (Josh) Jutting; Natasha and Nathaniel Gross; Jack and Jocelyn Meyer; Kayla, Kori, and TJ Iverson; Hannah and Ali Thompson; Sam Duenes; Sayler Swanson; David Iverson, and Dylan Zaborowski; Ronin Prybilla; nieces and nephews; and special friend, Helen Clarke. Services are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 12th at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Pine City, 825 Golf Avenue SW.  Visitation will be on Friday, February 11th from 4:00 until 8:00 p.m. also at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church with a 7:00 p.m. prayer and sharing service.  Visitation will continue on Saturday morning 1 hour prior to the service at the church.