Cloquet Educational Foundation

09/01/2026

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SAVE THE DATE

Cloquet Class of 1977
50th Class Reunion
📍 Buffalo House
📅 Saturday, July 31, 2027

More details to come!

Come celebrate 50 years of memories, friendship, and the Class of ’77!

08/24/2026

Class of 1960
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John Francis Luke, 82, of Rock Hill, South Carolina died suddenly from a stroke Aug.16, 2026, at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Born Oct. 2, 1943 in Cloquet, John was the first son of Raymond and Edna Luke. He grew up in Cloquet and met his wife, Bonnie Haislip, in high school. They graduated in 1960 and married. John enlisted in the Air Force where he became familiar with the electrical system of B-52 bombers. Four years later, he entered civilian life and realized there wasn't a lot of demand for B-52 electrical system technicians. So he used his military veteran benefits to learn computer programming at vocational college in Duluth.

For the next 50 years he implemented time-phased inventory control programs for major corporations internationally.

John will be remembered for his steadfast character and his dry wit. Until a few years ago, he was an avid golfer who preferred walking to riding in a cart. He always kept himself busy with Excel spreadsheets or fixing the house.

He was an active member in St. Mary's Catholic Church and volunteered with its outreach program.

He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Bonnie; his children, Jennifer and Jeffrey; and his grandchildren, Spencer, Taylor, Kami and John Paul. He is also survived by his siblings, Mary Plante, Diane Charon, Dan, Rick and Tom Luke; as well as many extended family members and friends. His beloved dogs, FeFe and Rita, whom he had hoped to housebreak before he passed away, will miss him.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Kathy Ahlgren; sister-in-law, Sulu; and his brothers-in-law, Al, Roy and Ron.

A mass will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29 at 902 Crawford Road in Rock Hill. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John Luke's memory to St. Mary's Outreach at 902 Crawford Road, Rock Hill, SC 29730 or Oaks Recovery at PO Box 50023, Greenwood, SC 29649.

08/18/2026

It was another great day out on the links—“fore” the kids! ⛳💙

A huge thank you to everyone who participated, sponsored a sign, volunteered, or helped make this event such a success. Your generosity and support truly make a difference for the kids!

A special thank you to the Cloquet Country Club, Members Cooperative Credit Union, and Carmen's for hosting such a wonderful day.

We are so grateful to everyone who came together to support the kids. Thank you for helping make a difference! ❤️

08/17/2026

Come join us for coffee, conversation, and catching up with fellow retirees!

Save the date—we hope to see you there!

08/10/2026

Class of 1964
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Jacquelyn Marie Hebert passed away peacefully with her loving family by her side on Thursday, May 21, 2026.

Jackie was born on August 15, 1946, in Minneapolis and was mainly raised in Cloquet, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by her parents, Harvey and Irene Hebert of Cloquet, MN, and her former husband, Otto F. Kraft of Tequesta, FL.

Jackie lived a full and vibrant life centered around family, community, friendship, and her love of learning. A proud graduate of Cloquet High School, Class of 1964, she was active in many school activities, cheerleader, glee club, and foxy trotters. In 1966, she was honored to be named Miss Northwestern Bell for the Aquatennial Celebration. She took on the role of Cloquet High School Hockey Statistician for both Tom “Mac” McFarlane and David Esse, and was CHS’s Speech Team Coach 1988-89, where many of the individuals participated in the State Tournament. Jackie later graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1988, though she always was a MN Gopher.

Throughout her life, Jackie dedicated herself to helping others. She worked for Carlton and St. Louis County Human Services, where she made lasting impacts on many lives. Still, the role she treasured most was being a mother and grandmother.

Jackie was deeply involved in her children’s activities as a Brownie and Girl Scout Leader, a Cub Scout Den Mother, PTA member and steadfast supporter of her family and community. She enjoyed painting, knitting, sewing and was an avid reader who especially loved a good mystery novel.

A lifelong hockey fan, Jackie passionately followed Cloquet Lumberjack Hockey, University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey, and the Minnesota Wild. She never missed an opportunity to attend the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. She also cherished traveling and spending time with her close high school girlfriends, Carole, Kris, Diane, Karen and Janet.

Jackie is very much and will continue to be missed by her family and friends including her daughter, Jaime (Kollin) Schammel; her son, Fritz Kraft; grandchildren Alexis Kraft (Sam Betterley), Austin Kraft, Nate Schammel, Nick Schammel, Luke Schammel, and Nick Kelly. She is survived by many cousins and dear friends, including Fritz Angst of Jupiter, Florida.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the caring staff at Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth for their compassion and support.

A Celebration of Life luncheon is planned for Saturday, August 15th, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., at the Cloquet Senior Center.

08/10/2026

08/04/2026

The Cloquet Educational Foundation is seeking a new executive director!

cloquet educational Jobs in Cloquet Minnesota | Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Career Center

07/27/2026

Alvin (Al) Alm passed away on Thursday, July 23rd, 2026.

Al was born in Albert Lea, MN on July 30, 1935. He was the son of Benjamin and Minnie (Speahler) Alm. He graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1953 and attended Dunwoody Industrial Institute in Minneapolis before being drafted in the U.S. Army in 1954. He served with the 2nd Armored Division in Germany as part of the occupation army before his honorable discharge in 1963 after completing his eight years of active and inactive miliary service. He was a lifetime member of the VFW and the DAV.

Al was united in marriage to his wife, Martha, in 1960. In 1961, he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. degree in Forest Management. Upon graduation, he joined a forestry consulting firm in Jackson, MI as an Associate Forester. He returned to Minnesota to pursue graduate studies at the University and received an M.S. degree in 1965. Al then worked as a property appraiser with the Bureau of Public Roads with assignments in St. Paul, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. He left the government employment and again returned to Minnesota to obtain his Ph.D. in Forestry in 1971.

He joined the faculty of the University College of Forestry in St. Paul as an Assistant Professor and achieved the rank of full professor. Al commuted form his office at the Cloquet Forestry Center to the St. Paul campus to teach his very popular silviculture course and a public speaking course for college seniors. He also taught several courses at the Forestry Center in spring and fall as well as during the summer. He served as the interim director of the center in 1990. In 1983, the college student yearbook was dedicated to him with the following quote, “What makes Al Alm so special is his willingness to take time to converse with students with a sincere interest and concern despite his teaching and research responsibilities.” In 1990 he was nominated to receive a university award for outstanding teachers. He received an award at his retirement gathering with the following words, “Al Alm in appreciation of his devotion to the profession of forestry, a dedicated teacher with a practical real-world perspective and productive assistance on a continuing basis to practicing field forest managers, he is representative of a rapidly vanishing academic breed who will sorely be missed and long remembered.”

Al specialized in regeneration research and helped to develop the concept of growing trees in greenhouses in small containers which is still in use today. Other research was in the use of forest herbicides and Christmas tree production. He served for over 30 years as a Christmas tree judge at the Minnesota State Fair. He is the author of over 100 scientific and technical publications including the Minnesota Christmas Tree Bulletin and is the co-author of a book on forestry practice and the author of a novel, “Coach”, the story of a basketball coach. Al was selected as Forester of the Year in 1991 by the University Forestry Club and in 1992 received the Award of Excellence from the Minnesota DNR for his efforts in reviewing their forest regeneration program. He was a member of national forestry and scientific honorary fraternities.

Al loved to hunt ducks and pheasants and was an avid fisherman making many trips to Canada and the Cutfoot Sioux area in Minnesota. He participated in many outdoor sports and also bowled in several leagues. He enjoyed frequent camping trips with
his family in their little pop-up camper as they traveled around the U.S. After retirement, he and Martha traveled extensively and visited all 50 states and made several trips to Europe. His most memorable trip was to China with a group of forest scientists to visit the Great Dragon Fire area. He also enjoyed playing golf with a group of seniors and is a former member of the Cloquet Country Club. As he and Martha traveled, they brought their golf clubs along and played a total of 142 different courses in 20 states and Canada.

Upon retirement Al served as a 55 Alive Instructor and Assistant State Coordinator of the program. He also did income taxes for seniors for the AARP program. He authored the Cloquet City Tree Ordinance and with the help of a graduate student and the encouragement of Cloquet mayor, Helen Wolner, conducted a survey of the trees on the Cloquet streets. Apparently after the Fires of 1918, the Cloquet citizens planted any tree they could find as evidenced by a catalpa tree that was found still living although it was way out of its normal range. The ordinance and survey led to Cloquet receiving a Tree City USA award for several years. He was on the Cloquet Library Board and served as chair; the Cloquet Educational Foundation; the Cloquet Hospital Board and the Hospital Foundation Board. He was a past president of the Golden K Kiwanis Club and was on the board of directors for several years. He was also on the Members Cooperative Credit Union Board and served as chair. In addition, he served on several community, school, and city committees. One of his hobbies was wood carving and he enjoyed carving with the Knotty Carvers of the North Club in Proctor. In his later years, he enjoyed having coffee and the Senior Center with his friend and visiting with the friendly staff. Al was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cloquet.

He is survived by his wife of over 65 years, Martha; two daughters, Bonnie (Jody) Keppers in Duluth, MN and Susan (Mark) Larson in Phoenix, AZ; four grandsons, Axel (Sasha) Ferguson, Spencer Ferguson, Paul Ferguson, and Benjamin Keppers; one great-grandson, William Ferguson; and one great-granddaughter, Odette Ferguson; niece, Mary Kluball; nephew, Ben Alm; brother, Donald Alm; and numerous extended family members and loved ones.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, August 4th, 2026, from 10 AM – 12 noon at St. Paul’s Evangelical Church (1705 Wilson Avenue, Cloquet, MN) until the funeral service at 12 noon. Al will be laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery in Glenville, MN.

06/29/2026

Class of 1982
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Nancy Jean Williams, 62, of Cloquet, MN, passed away peacefully Monday, June 22, 2026, at Aspirus St. Luke’s surrounded by her family.

She was born on November 24, 1963, to Robert and Amerita (Pollak) Schoen in Cloquet, MN and was raised in the area with her four sisters. She graduated from Cloquet High School in 1982 and married her high school sweetheart, Steven Williams in 1983. They had two children, Katrina and Emily, and raised them in the Cloquet area.

Nancy started working at First National Bank in Cloquet and continued her banking career in the area, until she retired from Frandsen Bank in 2025.

Nancy will be remembered for her love of family, being the hostest with the mostest and her home cooked meals. People say, if you left Nancy’s house hungry, it was your own fault. She loved to find new recipes in cookbooks, online and from many hours of watching the Food Network channel. Surprisingly, she never used recipes when she cooked because she believed everything should be cooked to taste. She loved being in the kitchen making a few “snacks” for family gatherings. A crowded house of people brought her so much joy. Her smile and laughter would light up the room. She also loved time with her family and the cherished “Sunday Fundays” which were filled with food, fun and laughter.

She enjoyed cruising the lake on her pontoon with her boat captain Steve and beloved dog Gabby. Nancy loved her yearly camping trips to Big Sandy and Stony Point Campground on Leech Lake. She also loved being at their permanent campsite on Big Lake. Camping was a part of her life from an early age and she loved sharing the time with family and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents; sister, Susan Brookshaw; and father-in-law, Robert Williams.

Nancy is survived by her husband, Steven; children, Katrina (Clay) Foxx and Emily (Kyle) Johnson; grandchildren, Kaelyn, Kali, Hailey, Kennadi, and Bentley; siblings, Cathy (Dean) Guitare, Mary Schoen, and Dorothy (Jim) Bruggeman; brother-in-law, Patrick Brookshaw; mother-in-law, Char Williams; and many other close friends, family, nieces, and nephews.

A visitation will be held on Monday, June 29, 2026, from 10 AM until the Mass of Christian Burial at 11 AM at St. Francis Catholic Church in Carlton, MN. Interment to follow at New Calvary Cemetery in Cloquet, with luncheon at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Cloquet, MN.

06/22/2026

Spring/Summer 2026 Newsletter
Read about the good things that the Cloquet Educational Foundation is supporting within the Cloquet School District.

Your donations do make a difference. Thank YOU!

Spread the word!