Delores Jean Saethre

Delores Jean Saethre, age 92 of Grand Marais passed away on May 1, 2024, at North Shore Health Care Center. Born in Duluth, Minnesota, on July 1, 1931, to Ethel and Morse Rhea, Delores was the youngest of five sisters. Her childhood was spent at various Coast Guard stations around Lakes Michigan and Superior. Delores attended schools in multiple locations across Wisconsin and Michigan, including Two Rivers, Sheboygan, Neenah Menasha, Appleton, Green Bay, Holland, Munising, Marquette, Duluth, and Grand Marais. She once worked at the Split Rock Lighthouse Gift Shop while her father managed the lighthouse for the Coast Guard. During her senior year of high school, while employed at Joynes Department Store, Delores met Lyle Saethre. The couple married on December 30, 1946, and after an adventurous attempt to relocate to Alaska, which led them to Flagstaff, Arizona, due to a severe storm, they returned to Grand Marais. There, they settled on Maple Hill, raised six children, and shared 60 years of marriage. 

A devoted homemaker, Delores enjoyed creating many handcrafted items for her children and grandchildren. Lyle and Delores owned and operated Saethre Electric, where she was the main bookkeeper until they retired. Their retirement was marked by travels in their motorhome across the southwest, spending time in Nevada, Texas, and Arizona, including two years working at the Grand Canyon. Delores volunteered at the Cook County Historical Society Museum and Johnson Heritage Post and was an active member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais. 

Delores was preceded in death by her husband, Lyle, their infant daughter, Jeannie, and her sisters: Myrtle Berglund, Grace Smith, Vivian Johnson, and Theo Passano. She is survived by her children: Lavona Czaplicki (Schroeder, MN), Dorie Carlson (St. Paul, MN), David Saethre (Grand Marais), Kathy Wallace (Mark) of Woodbury, MN, Sharon Jorgenson (Glendale, AZ), and Robert (Mary) of Oak Ridge, TN. Her legacy also includes grandchildren, Richard Marchand (Jan), Ann Hanson (Victor), Jeremy Saethre (Emily), Amy Valentine (Mike), Michael Jorgenson (Rachel), Jordyn Saethre (Cory), Ben Jorgenson (Savannah), Charlotte Saethre, Brian Wallace, Elizabeth Wallace, and Nickoli Saethre; great-grandchildren Adeline, Marcus, Alice, Katerina, Madison, Leo, Liam, and Winston; and numerous nieces and nephews.