Clinton John Helmerson passed away on April 7, 2018, from pneumonia while in hospice care in Sarasota, Florida. He was 61 years old and had been residing at the Crossbreeze Care Center Alzheimer’s Memory Care Unit for several years.
Clint was born in Duluth on August 27, 1956 to Glenn and Donna Helmerson and grew up in Grand Marais. After graduating from Cook County High School in 1974 he attended Carlton College in Northfield, Minn. for one year. After a short hiatus he enrolled in Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz. and graduated in 1982 with a master’s degree in exercise physiology. He then entered the graduate program at the University of Minnesota for four years.
Just before beginning his dissertation to obtain his PhD. he realized that his lifelong love of fishing trumped his love of athletics – he had excelled in track & field and football in high school and played a little ball in college.
In 1987 he began his Lake Superior charter fishing business in Grand Marais using his parents’ boat, the DONNA JEAN. After several successful seasons, he purchased his own boat naming it the FAR SUPERIOR. Clint was a familiar fixture during the summer months as he moored his boat at the Angry Trout dock. He was a great captain and seldom brought his clients back empty handed, welcoming back the same fishing parties year after year.
After his father passed away he assumed the responsibility of looking after his mother as her Alzheimer’s progressed. They resided in Venice, Florida in the winter and in the Grand Marais Tourist Park in the summer. Clint sold his boat in 2008 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2009. After his partner, Nancy Knowles, passed away in 2010 his brother Dan moved in with him and they continued to spend summers in Grand Marais until 2014 when he required nursing home care.
Clint’s “get-a-way” place in Cook County was his buddy’s cabin on Pike Lake. When not chartering you could find him there cutting down dead birch trees with his chainsaw and enjoying the lake, where he had spent lots of time as a child. At various points in his life, he enjoyed hunting, golfing, curling, snowmobiling, skiing and playing softball. He acquired the nickname of “Brushpile” for his ability to hit home runs into the brush adjacent to the playing field. He also loved playing poker and shooting craps, making numerous trips to Las Vegas with his college buddies.
Many folks will remember him as a great storyteller and jokester who kept most everyone laughing at “Happy Hour.”
He was preceded in death by his parents, Glenn and Donna Helmerson and his partner Nancy Knowles. He is survived by his brother, Dan Helmerson of Venice, Florida, and many cousins.
A memorial service will be scheduled for a date yet to be determined this summer in Grand Marais.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org/donate.
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