Thomas J. Lakenen (W.O.H), age 64, of Marquette, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, March 22, 2006.
Tom was born on May 14, 1941 in Winona, Minnesota, to the late Alice and William Lakenen. He was married to Kathleen Niemi on August 7, 1965. Together, they created many wonderful memories spanning over 40 years. Their children will especially cherish the ones of camping, burning ant logs, his sense of humor, and just having him in their lives.
Tom’s favorite activities included wine making, gardening, yard work, hunting, fishing, and playing on-line computer games. He also enjoyed going to the casino thus winning the title of “Black Jack Player” of the year in 2005. He loved to watch all sports on TV, especially football. Tom’s sense of humor was evident with all that he met, and he made friends easily. It earned him the titles of “The Dog King” and “Grampa Grumpy”, given to him by his grandchildren. It was also evident in his poems that he wrote.
Tom is survived by his loving wife, Kathy
Son: Bill (Ginger)
Daughter: Rayme (John) Martineau
Adored grandchildren: Kelcie, Brendon, Ariana, and Haylee
Brother: Ray (Pat)
Sisters: Bette Cadieux, Mary (Dick) Bradley, Bev Johnson, and Elsie Mae (Ted) Gawry
Sisters-in-law: JoAnn (Jim) Boyd, Carolyn Swanson, Lillyan (Pat) Savage, Margi (Terry) Beauchaine, Lila (Bill) Lewis, Bernie Vadnais
Brother-in-law: Joe (Barb) Niemi
He will be sadly missed by numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, co-workers, and co-players.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by foster parents, Marie Witek and Louis Vadnais; brothers, Bill and Jerry Lakenen, Robert and Marvin Vadnais; brothers-in-law, Jim Johnson, John Cadieux, Gary Swanson, and Paul Niemi; and sisters-in-law, Sharon Lakenen and Lorraine Madosh.
Friends may call at St. Louis the King Catholic Church in Harvey on Saturday, March 25, beginning at 10:30 am. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1:30 pm Saturday afternoon in the church with Rev. Ben Paris, pastor, as celebrant. Tom will be escorted by John Martineau, David Bradley, David Gawry, Tom Lakenen, Russ Boyer, Patrick Lakenen, Dan Lakenen, Ann Burks, and John Bartlett.
