Obituary of Tom Kesti

Thomas Dale Kesti, 71, of Duluth, MN, passed away peacefully on April 9, 2025.

Tom was born on April 22, 1953, to George Albert Kesti and Gloria Ann Kesti in Cloquet. He graduated from Cloquet High School in 1971 and studied at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Tom met the love of his life, Sharen Delvas in Duluth and they relocated to Liskeard, England.  Tom found work as a carpenter in the shipyards of Plymouth, lending his hand to some of the world’s finest yachts. Tom and Sharen married on April 19, 1978, in Liskeard, where they were soon joined by their firstborn, Nathan. Tom continued woodworking stateside after the family moved to Pensacola, Florida, and eventually back to Duluth, where Ryan and later Dylan were born, and where he and Sharen enjoyed many years of laughter, love, and walks in the woods and by the St. Louis River.

Tom was a true Master Carpenter and applied his craftsmanship to all types of projects across the Upper Midwest -- his sharp mathematical mind, creative spirit, and ceaseless curiosity meant there was no challenge too niche or great. He designed props for Disney’s Iron Will, and he helped neighbors with septic problems. When the Mercy Ships visited, Duluth Tom was enlisted to maintain the ships’ interiors. He created intricate and grand spiral staircases from raw timber, and always had time to build birdfeeders or school projects for his sons and grandchildren.  

Tom found not just coworkers but community and camaraderie in the Carpenters Local 361, with whom he labored on the job site and on the picket line. Fighting for the rights of organized labor was a passionate part of his broader advocacy for more democratic and just world.

Of all his accomplishments, Tom was most proud of his sons and grandchildren, whose names are carved into the hidden corners of his work, and who are forever in debt to him for endless helping hands offered during never-ending home improvement projects. His first grandchild renamed him “Gump” and it stuck, a one-of-a-kind name for a one-of-a-kind man. It wasn’t hard to find Gump, the stoic Finlander, streaming tears when talking about those he most loved.

Tom is survived by his wife, Sharen Kesti; his sons Nathan Kesti, Ryan (Teri) Kesti, and Dylan (LaCora) Bradford-Kesti; and his grandchildren River, Ezra, Ariadne, Cedar, Delany, Kamaria, and Finnigan.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Kay.

As Tom would say in parting: “Be good and be careful.”

Memorials preferred to Minnesota Public Radio: 800-228-7123 or PO BOX 860294, Minneapolis, MN 55486