Obituary: Darlene Delores Woodward

Darlene Delores Woodward, nee Lahti, 85, of Cloquet passed away Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, at Evergreen Knoll. Dar was born on Aug. 23, 1937, in Gackle, North Dakota to Eino and Kathryn Lahti. She graduated from Cloquet High School in 1956.

She was working at Jim's Hamburgers when she met her future husband, Neil Woodward. They were married on Aug. 10, 1957, and spent 62 happy years together, until his death in 2020. Dar will be remembered for her sense of humor, her hospitality, her needlework, and her love of cooking. She was a proud Finn, and made sure that her children and grandchildren knew all the fun Finnish songs.

Dar was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and brothers Wes (Alice), Ralph (Lavona) and Reino.

Dar is survived by her son, Al Woodward; daughter, Dr. Jessica (Erik) Lavan; sister, Evie (Clyde) Luttinen; brother Marv Lahti; grandchildren, Randi (Mark) Nyholm, Sam (Paul) LeMay, Joey (Nathan) Helder, Grace Lavan and Ethan Lavan; and six great-grandchildren.

Darlene went to dance in the meadows with her husband beyond the veil of this world. She will be greatly missed by all of us.

Visitation: 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. memorial service on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Finnish Apostolic Church, 2502 Big Lake Road, Cloquet. Arrangements by Atkins Northland Funeral Home in Cloquet. To sign the guestbook and leave an online tribute, see http://www.atkinsnorthlandfuneralhome.com.