Robert Arthur Maki was born February 13, 1948 in Deer River, Minnesota, the second child of Arnold and Irene (Ojanen) Maki. He died April 8, 2014.
Bob, a proud Eagle Scout, grew up in Eagle Township where he helped his folks with the Four Corners Store. Bob graduated from Cromwell High School in 1966 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Silviculture from the University of Minnesota, St. Paul in 1970. He married Carol Storrs in 1978 and had two children Janelle and Cal.
He worked for the Minnesota DNR as a Forest Ranger for 38 years serving the northern Minnesota communities of Crane Lake, Jacobson, Hill City, Orr and Grand Marais. One of his favorite parts of his job took place every spring when Ranger Bob and his tree planting crews would plant millions of new trees to keep the forests growing for future generations. An avid outdoorsman and ever a steward of the land, one of his favorite expressions was “Use your Resources.”
A professional Ax Man, Bob competed in Logging Competitions for 10 years, the pinnacle of that career was earning a bronze medal in the one-man crosscut saw event at the 1976 World Lumberjack Championships in Hayward, Wisconsin. He went on to create his own “Lumber Yack” show performing for community events, local fairs and at the Minnesota State Fair, delighting audiences with his unique brand of humor. A colorful showman, Bob developed his show over the years from demonstrating traditional lumberjack skills of chopping, crosscut sawing and ax-throwing to writing his own script and performing as such characters as Lena and Toivo Two Timbers whose motto was: “It’s not da easy vay, but it’s da Lumber Yack vay.”
Retired from the MN DNR since 2010 Ranger Bob enjoyed trivia nights at Sven & Ole’s and the American Legion in Grand Marais and making improvements to his Cloud Bay Camp in Ontario, which he recently earned the distinction of becoming a
Certified Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Foundation.
In August of 2013 Bob moved to Alaska to be closer to his children, grandchildren and experience a real Alaskan winter. Since moving to Alaska he was able to experience driving the entire Denali Park Road with his family, his first Iditarod sled dog race start and ice fishing at -40 below in Denali State Park. He enjoyed learning about the history and resources of the places he visited.
An expert woodsman and craftsman, Bob was always happiest in the woods, cutting firewood, cruising timber and working with the loggers. Even in retirement Bob enjoyed working with wood whether it was cutting and splitting firewood, carpentry, designing and building his own wooden ice fishing tipups or crafting handmade birch burl bowls.
He will be remembered by his friends and family for his amazing knowledge of sports, history, his positive mental attitude, unique brand of humor, carpentry craftsmanship and his professional storytelling skills. His many sayings will be missed, like; “Just doing the Lord’s work,” “Praise the Lord,” “The meaning of life is how you help others” and of course those early morning phone calls: “Daylight in the swamp.”
Bob was preceded in death by his younger brother Paul and his parents.
He is survived by his son, Cal Maki of Wasilla, Alaska; daughter, Janelle Maki (Cody Conover) of Big Lake, Alaska; brother, William (Karen) Maki of Nevis, Minnesota; Charles (Pam) Maki of Cromwell, Minnesota; one niece, three nephews and two grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the American Legion in Grand Marais on Friday, May 2 at 4 p.m. Condolences and remembrances of Ranger Bob may be sent to his children Janelle and Cal Maki P.O. Box 521004 Big Lake, AK 99652.
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