Walter Jaakkola

1924 - 2014

Walter A. Jaakkola, 89

St. Cloud

International Falls

September 28, 1924 - July 13, 2014

Walter August Jaakkola, 89, of St. Cloud, formerly of International Falls, died peacefully Sunday, July 13, 2014, at St. Ben's Community Care Center.

Walt was born September 28, 1924, in Jacobson, MN on the family farm.  He served in the Merchant Marines in Italy and later graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in accounting.  He married Joan (Eichhorn) Jaakkola on June 9, 1950, in Hill City, MN.

He worked for RCA as a cost accountant in New Jersey and Indiana until 1967 when he moved to Big Falls, MN, to join his brother-in-law Olli Mannila in the family wood products business.  In 1975, they sold the mill to Boise Cascade, International Falls, where he was the chip production manager until his retirement in 1989.

Walt was a life-long outdoor enthusiast. He loved the woods of northern Minnesota and the hunting shack he shared with family and friends.  He greatly enjoyed his involvement with the Ruffed Grouse Society and his hunting trips to Wyoming throughout the years.  He loved watching professional sports and was an avid Vikings and Twins fan.  Walt especially loved family gatherings with his wife Joan and their four children, and later, their grandchildren, in the home they built on Rainy Lake where they lived for more than 20 years.  After retirement, Walt and Joan moved to St. Cloud.

A beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, he was preceded in death by his wife Joan, as well as his parents and his sister Helen Mannila.  He is survived by his four children, Sonya (Jim) Davis, Pensacola, FL.; Walter S. Jaakkola, Highland Ranch, CO; Craig Jaakkola, Minneapolis; and Terry (John Bovee) Jaakkola, St. Cloud; four grandchildren, Noah Weiner, Roderick Bovee, Regan (Nick) Bovee-Gazett, and Rachel Jaakkola; and three great-grandchildren, Eli Weiner, Mason Weiner and Sophia Bovee.

A private family service will be held on Rainy Lake in International Falls.  Memorials are preferred to the Voyageur (International Falls) Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society, 206 Shorewood Drive, Intl Falls, MN 56649, to support their annual banquet which raises money to protect and improve habitats.