Bernard J. Gestel passed away after a lingering illness at the North Shore Care Center, on Sunday January 10, 2021. He was born on December 6, 1930, to Mary (Phillips) and John Gestel in Dollar Bay, Michigan. He attended Dollar Bay High School and fifteen years after graduating enrolled at Finlandia University (formerly Suomi College) in Hancock, Michigan and graduated from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. On June 6, 1968, he was united in marriage to Mildred M. Miron. They are the parents of one daughter.
Bernie enjoyed swimming, scuba diving, exploring ship wrecks off of Isle Royale National Park and Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, boating, hunting, fishing, backpacking, cross country skiing, picking berries, gardening, genealogy and continuing the tradition of wine making from his grandfather.
He held various jobs: his first being a supermarket stock boy, worked at an explosive plant making dynamite for mining companies, safety boatman and diver at a bridge construction site, and seasonal campground maintenance worker at Isle Royale National Park. This job was ideal because he could pursue many of his favorite hobbies while living on the island.
He retired from the National Park Service in 1992 having served at Isle Royale National Park, Pictured Rocks National Park in Munising, Michigan and Grand Marais, Michigan, and finally Grand Portage National Monument.
Bernie was a member of St. John’s Catholic Church, served on parish council, ushered, was a Eucharistic minister, tended the gardens, and was instrumental in establishing the Mary Garden. He served as an AARP tax preparer, a Master Gardener, a driver for Meals-On-Wheels, past president of the Cook County Fair Board, Cook County Soil and Water Conservation and City of Grand Marais Tree Committee. He received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Naval Reserves after 7 ½ years of service.
Highlights of his life included a trip to Slovenia to attend a genealogy conference and visit his grandfather’s homestead, and along with Milly being chosen as Cook County Citizens of the Year by the Lion’s Club during Fishermen’s Picnic in 2015. In spite of having lived in Minnesota for almost 44 years Bernie remained a loyal Detroit Tiger and Lion’s fan.
He was preceded in death by his parents and three sisters: Dorothy Hunsanger, Betty Hosang, and Mary Wootten. He is survived by his wife Milly, daughter Donna (Jerry) Paine, granddaughters Adrianna (Eric) Brisson and Ashley Berglund, all of Grand Marais, one brother Robert of Arnold, Missouri, one nephew and three nieces.
A private memorial service will be held at St. John’s Catholic Church on a later date with burial at St. John’s Cemetery.
Memorials preferred to St. John’s Catholic Church or the Cook County Food Shelf.
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