Obituary of Raymond John Strand

Raymond John Strand, 81, of Cloquet, passed away Thursday, November 27, 2003 in Cloquet Community Memorial Nursing Home. He was born to Emil and Olga (Storberg) Strand on January 25, 1922 in Cloquet. Ray graduated from Cloquet High School in 1940 and joined the Navy on September 16, 1942. He served in the South Pacific as a Carpenters Mate 2nd Class and was honorably discharged on December 19, 1945. Ray married Doris Ann Caron on March 21, 1946 in Cloquet. Ray purchased the farm homestead from his parents and continued dairy farming for 33 years. In his earlier years, he worked in construction. He was very active in farming organizations and served 30 years with the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Committee. Raymond was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Mark Strand; three sisters, Bertha Brander, Aili Lockhart and Sira Gray; four brothers, Emil, Ero, and Paul Strand and an infant brother, Paul. He was dearly loved and will be greatly missed by his family. Ray is survived by his wife, Doris Ann of Cloquet; five sons, Thomas (Peggy) of Newport, TN, Steven (Kay), David (Tracy), Daniel, and Robin (Cathy) all of Cloquet; two daughters, Gloria Jean (Ray) Roybal of Minneapolis and Julie Ann (Donald) Lahti; one sister, Gertrude Iwasko of Cloquet; eight grandchildren, Lara, Joshua, Jocelyn, Jera Rae, Kevin, Christine, Jared and Sheldon; three step grandchildren, Andrew, Anthony and Matthew; and three great grandchildren, Bradley, Rebecca and Anikka. Funeral services were held Monday, December 1, 2003 in Northland Funeral Home, 801 14th Street, Cloquet. Interment was in Maple Grove Cemetery, Cloquet.