Obituary of George Eliason

On September 16, 2020, George Eliason died surrounded by family after a long battle with Lewy Body Dementia.

He was born to Walter and Elida (Lehto) Eliason on October 4, 1937. He graduated Denfeld High in 1956 and married Norma Ripley in November of that same year. 

A gifted mechanic, George worked at Duluth Auto Clinic with his brothers Gordy and Jim, ran a garbage pickup business as The Doctor of Garbology, worked at BarKo Loader Sales, and retired from North Shore Manufacturing in 2002. 

George used his mechanical skills to build car #14, driven by his brothers Gordy and Jim at Proctor, Superior and Ashland racetracks. He helped his son and nephews carry on the family racing tradition with car #14E driven by son Alan and car #4 driven by nephew Todd Eliason. He was a past president of Proctor Speedway. 

George loved to hunt, hosting opening weekend of deer season at his cabin and preparing a turkey dinner for the hunters. He cooked venison to perfection and made a great venison stew. 

He was an avid fisherman, taking friends, family, and all the kids out on Lake Superior and Comstock Lake, gladly baiting the hooks for the squeamish ones. The trout and walleye he cooked brought everyone back for seconds, and his Northern fish cakes were always in demand and devoured by crowds of friends and family. 

He enjoyed riding snowmobiles, especially his annual trip to Yellowstone with friends, lending a helping hand to anyone having mechanical trouble with their machine. He was a bit of a speed demon as well, tweaking his machine to get the most out of it at radar runs. And nothing made him prouder than when his teenaged granddaughter, Chelsie (nee Skorich) Belkholm, drove for him and brought his finely-tuned machine in at first place, which happened often.

George was a member of Cotton Community Church and Cotton Seniors Club.

George was preceded in death by his parents, sister Eleanor  Bos and brothers Roger and Gordon.

He is survived by his bride of 63 years, Norma; children, Jennifer (Rodney) Skorich, Gail (David) Funk, Steven (Sherry), Jim (Wendi), Alan (Kari); sisters Viola Boder and Margaret Ripley; brothers James, Harry (Judie), John (Nancy); sister-in-law Merle; 12 grandchildren; 2 great-granddaughters with another due in October and a dizzying number of nephews and nieces.

Due to Covid-19, George’s celebration of life will be a private ceremony for family members.

Arrangements by the Cremation Society of Minnesota.

The family thanks Golden Oaks Assisted Living of Proctor and Essentia Health Hospice for their kind and loving care of George.

In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome donations to Essentia Health Hospice, Cotton Community Church or the Parkinson’s Foundation.