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Denfeld High School has produced many colorful people. The following is a list of some notable people from Denfeld's past and present. The year next to the name represents the Class year of that person. This page is still under construction, so you can expect many more names in the future.  LELHA B. ABRAMSON [1920]: Lelha is likely Denfeld's alumnist who lived the longest. She was born on January 1, 1903 and graduated from Denfeld in 1920. She became a teacher and taught at Irving Elemetary for 48 years! In 1956, Abramson earned a Bachelor of Science degree from UMD. Mrs. Abramson died on August 16, 2004 at the age of 101.  ALBERT J. AMATUZIO [1942]: Al is the president, CEO, and creator of AMSOIL. AMSOIL has a line of synthetic lubricants and motor oils used world-wide. Amatuzio spent 25 years as a fighter jet pilot and became a Lieutenant Colonel.  GREG ANDERSON [1979]: World champion stock car racer who won at the NHRA's Pontiac Excitement Nationals. Greg holds the record for the most wins in a season.  ROBERT BEAUDIN [1958]: Mayor of the City of Duluth from 1975-1979. In 1978, Mayor Beaudin greeted Air Force One & President Jimmy Carter at the Duluth Airport and was then part of the presidential motorcade through Duluth.  BRAD BENNETT [1965]: Former Duluth School Board Member and candidate for the State House of Representatives. Brad served as a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War and was part of the group behind the building of the Veterans Memorial park near Fitger's on the Duluth lakefront. Bennett is the former host of the Fightline radio talk show which aired on WDSM and WEBC. He now hosts a talk show on KDAL.  RUDOLPH BERGHULT [1923]: Duluth Mayor from 1937-1941. Rudy was not only the youngest Duluth mayor but was also the first natve-born Duluth mayor. Berghult was credited with helping secure the government funding for the construction of Duluth's Blatnik Bridge. Rudy served in the U.S. Navy and was awarded the Bronze Star in 1944. Mr. Berghult later went on to work at NASA for 21 years. Rudy was once praised by the Prince of Sweden for his "excellent" acting. Rudolph died on February 16, 2000.  WILLIAM T. BESTER [1968]: Approved by the U.S. Senate and by the Secretary of the Army, William became a brigadier general and the first male chief of the Army Nurse Corps. William also serves as an Assistant U.S. Surgeon General.  KAY BIGA [1978]: Biga is a UWS teacher, business owner, and the Chief Operations Officer for Biga Affiliates. Kay owns the Superior Inn and the Manning Motel in Superior. Kay is the former owner of the Duluth Grill, local Hardee's franchises in Duluth, Virginia, Ely, and Hayward, and the Manning Manor Mobile Home Park. Kay is involved in politics. She ran for Duluth City Council and has served on several other local campaigns. Biga recieved a law degree from Hamline Law School in St. Paul. EDWARD BIRD [1929]: Ed began working for the Duluth Police Department in 1931 and was one of Duluth's first motorcycle police officers. Bird served as Police Chief from 1965 to 1967. Edward died in July of 1968.  MARK BLACK [Attended]: Mark has been dog-sleding for over 25 years. He began dog-sleding at the age of 16 when he was a student at Denfeld. Mark has raced in 13 John Beargrease Sled-Dog Marathons over the years and in 2005 he won the 390 mile race!  JOHN BOLME [1941]: John served in the U.S. Navy aboard the destroyer ship USS Johnston during World War II. On October 25, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the USS Johnston was hit and sunk by Japanese forces. Of the 327 crew, only 141 had survived the attack. John survived by floating on a life raft for three days until he was rescued. Later, John worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Duluth and then in Boulder. John passed away on March 8, 2005.  THOMAS BUJOLD [1939]: Former St. Louis County Judge. Tom served in the U.S Army Air Force during World War II. Bujold attended the Marquette University of Law and later became a Duluth City Attorney in 1953. Tom also served as the president of the Minnesots Municipal Court Judges Association. In 1963, Bujold took up a test case on the legality of a Duluth city ordinance that prohibits serving liquor to women at bars.  Sgt. JOHN A. CAMERON [1979] : John is a police sergeant and homicide detective in Great Falls, Montana. Cameron was the lead investigator in the high profile Nathaniel Bar-Jonah murder/cannibal case. Bar-Jonah was suspected of kidnapping and assaulting several boys. Bar-Jonah murdered at least one of his victims and fed parts of the 10 year old boy to his unsuspecting neighbors. Sgt. Cameron has appeared on national TV shows like Dateline NBC, 48 Hours, and America's Most Wanted.  ELVIN C. CHURCHILL [1924] : Elvin was born on July 14, 1907. Churchill served as Cloquet Schools superintendent from 1948 to 1961. Elvin also served as superintendent of Wrenshall Schools for 14 years & Minong Schools for 1 year. Churchill served as principal of both Chisholm & Cloquet high schools in the 1940's. Famous actress Jessica Lange was a student in Cloquet Schools while Elvin was superintendent. The Churchill Elementary School in Cloquet is named in honor of Elvin Churchill. Mr. Churchill died on September 16, 1961.  SGT. MIKE COLALILLO [1948] : WWII War hero and recipiant of the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman at the White House. A street is named for him near Menards in West Duluth and a plaque honors him at the Veterans Memorial in Duluth.  CURTIS M. COONEY [2005] : Curtis made headlines after being murdered at age 22 in Duluth's Central Hillside on July 12, 2009. Within ten minutes of arriving at a party, several men approached the area and at least one of the men began firing a gun which struck one man in the leg and struck Cooney in the back of the head. Cooney was the father of a young son.  ROGER J. DELOACH [1969] : Roger has been involved in car racing for over 30 years and is the author of the book He Calls My Name. Roger's daughter is the award winning Christian singer Christina Deloach.  JON L. DONAHUE [1983]: Jon is co-host of the popular Duluth Public Access show The Average Guys which has aired over 400 programs since 1998. Duluth mayor Don Ness was a guest on show number 400 on April 15, 2008. Famous hockey player Brett Hull once appeared on the show as well. Jon served as manager of the former KDUL channel 12 in Duluth. In 2007, Jon ran for Duluth City Council.  M. GEORGE DOWNS [1946]: Former President of the Duluth School Board and served on the Duluth City Council. Mr. Downs also served on the State of Minnesota Board of Electricity and the Duluth State Convention Center Administrative Board.  RAYMOND L. ERICKSON [1963]: Erickson is a Chief Magistrate Judge for the Federal Courts of Minnesota. Judge Erickson has been involved some notable cases including convicted murderer Donald Blom who was featured in an episode of Court TV's Forensic Files, Richard Lee Rubin who made national headlines after robbing the same bank twice, Jammie Thomas-Rasset who made national headlines after being sued by the recording industry for Internet file sharing of songs, Country music star Troy Lee Gentry who was charged after illegally hunting a bear, Jeff Weise who murdered nine people on the Red Lake Reservation including seven people at a school, and Shaun Deckinga who was wrongfully convicted of bank robbery. Deckinga's case has been written about in several books and appeared on A&E's American Justice TV program.  GREGORY D. FECHNER [1992]: In 2002, Staff Sergeant Fechner recieved the Airman's Medal, the highest peacetime award of the U.S. Air Force. John was in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 when terrorists crashed a commercial airliner into the side of the building killing hundreds of people. Greg helped to evacuate and rescue many people from the burning building. Later he organized a group to provide food and water for the firefighters at the scene.   [1995]: Mike is the Administrator/Webmaster for DuluthDenfeld.com and is also a local historian and a former radio announcer on WWJC Radio. Mike's historical research has appeared in several books, publications, and articles. He holds both Commercial and Amateur licenses from the FCC and has worked for several radio and TV stations.
Mike has appeared in several TV commercials including playing a Vikings fan for Grandma's Inc, KBJR's Topline News, and appeared as an extra in the 1994 Walt Disney movie IRON WILL. He has also been on Minnesota Public Radio, CBS Evening News, WDSE-TV's Album and Almanac North programs, and Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell. Mike ran for Duluth City Council in 2003 and recieved over 2400 votes! He didn't win but came in sixth out of eight candidates. Mike is a descendant of the Ojibwe Indian Chief Fine Day and is a certified descendant of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and the White Earth Reservation. Mike is also a descendant of the Mississippi Chippewa bands of Mille Lacs, Gull Lake, and the Otter Tail Pillagers. He is also a descendant of the Lake Superior Chippewa bands of L'Anse, Michigan and the "Lost Tribe" of the St. Croix. Chief Fine Day signed two treaties with the United States including the 1867 treaty which created the White Earth Reservation. Fine Day traveled to Washington D.C. in 1863 where he met with President Abraham Lincoln at the White House. He again traveled to the White House in 1867 where he met with President Andrew Johnson. He traveled with the well known Rev. Enmegahbowh all accross the eastern United States in 1880. The famous Bishop Henry B. Whipple referred to Fine Day as a "remarkable man" in his 1899 autobiography and made Chief Fine Day the key part of his 1892 speech in New York in front of Theodore Roosevelt. Fine Day and his family were among those who were at the horriffic Sandy Lake Tragedy that occurred at the Sandy Lake Reservation in 1850. About 400 Native Americans lost their life due the cruel, calculated, and unconstitutional plan by the federal government to force the Chippewa into Minnesota.  ROBERT M. FRASER [1934]: Bob worked his way up through the ship building industry. His first job was as a helper at the Marine Iron & Shipbuilding Company in 1932. He then went on to work for Globe Shipbuilding Company in 1941. In 1955, Fraser bought out a local shipyard and became owner and president of the new Fraser Shipyards in Superior. Bob was a member of the exclusive American Bureau of Shipbuilding's Ship Classification Society and was voted Duluth-Superior Harbor Man of the Year in 1974. John F. Kennedy toured the Fraser Shipyards while campaigning for president in Superior. A book about the history of the Fraser Shipyards is currently in the works. Robert Fraser died in February 1986.  FRED T. FRIEDMAN [1965]: A UMD professor since 1975 and Northeastern Minnesota's chief public defender since 1986. Fred has spent over 30 years defending those who can't afford legal services. Friedman also serves on the Advisory Board of the Innocence Project of Minnesota. Fred was once a public defender in the high profile Donald Blom murder case. Friedman told the Budgeteer News that "if he ever won the Power Ball, he would give a lot to Denfeld High School."  |