Marie Koivuniemi

Marie Koivuniemi of St. Ignace was a registered nurse who worked for the Mackinac County Health Department for several years, after rearing her four boys.

She died at the age of 88, Sunday evening, February 17, 2008, at Mackinac Straits Hospital in St. Ignace, following a short illness.

She was born September 5, 1919, in South Range. Following high school graduation, she attended Wayne State University in Detroit and was graduated from the university as a registered nurse.

She married Reuben Koivuniemi December 23, 1946, at South Range. They moved to St. Ignace in 1951, and built a home, which they moved into in 1955. Mr. Koivuniemi was one of the first engineers at the Mackinac Bridge.

While they lived in St. Ignace, Mrs. Koivuniemi was an avid golfer, along with her entire family. She was proud of her accomplishment of getting a hole-in-one at the St. Ignace Golf Club. One of her greatest afternoon joys, family members said, was taking rides on the back roads of Mackinac and Chippewa counties, where she knew all the roads, as well as some around the Pellston area in the Lower Peninsula. Her family recalls she could turn an average three-hour trip to Marquette into a six-hour exploration of the back roads between St. Ignace and Marquette.

Mrs. Koivuniemi was a member of Zion Evangelical Church in St. Ignace. She enjoyed spending time with her family, especially taking children to the beach. She also liked reading and solving crossword puzzles.

After her husband's death in 2002, she spent two years living in Alaska with her son, David, and his wife, Rhonda.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Reuben, who died January 26, 2002; her parents, Nestor and Anna (nee Wickstrom) Koski; three brothers, Robert, Albert, and Carl, and two sisters, Katherine and Mae.

Mrs. Koivuniemi is survived by four children and their families, Carl Koivuniemi and Paul Burkhart of New York City, New York, Paul and Linda Koivuniemi of Indianapolis, Indiana, David and Rhonda Koivuniemi of St. Ignace, and Peder and Jaque Koivuniemi of Aliso-Viejo, California, six grandchildren, Stephanie, Brad, Victoria, Kyle, Antti, and Mark, and seven great-grandchildren.

Services will be Thursday, February 21, at 11 a.m. at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Ignace. Pastor Tari Stage- Harvey will officiate. Visitation will be one hour before services.

Memorial donations can be made to the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, and envelopes are available from Dodson Funeral Home of St. Ignace, which assisted the family with arrangements.