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 DEREK D. GAGNE [1998]: Derek joined the U.S. Navy in 1999 and was a fire control technician on the ship USS Cole docked in Yemen when it was bombed in 2000. Derek survived, but seventeen U.S. Service men and women died in the attack and 33 more were injured.  KENT A. GERNANDER [1959]: Kent is the president of the Minnesota State Bar Association. Gernander attended Harvard College and the University of Minnesota Law School. Kent is a partner and trial lawyer with the law firm of Streater & Murphy, PA. Gernander joined with governor Tim Pawlenty for the "Lawyers on Ice" fund raiser that raised over $5,000 for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. Kent's brother is the chief scout for the NHL Dallas Stars hockey team.  ROBERT S. GERNANDER [1957]: Bob is the chief scout for the NHL Dallas Stars hockey team. In years past, Gernander worked for the San Jose Sharks. Bob was part of the coaching staff for the 2004 U.S. Hockey League's Prospects All-Star Game. Gernander is a 1992 Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee and a 1987 winner of the John Mariucci Award. Bob once coached the future professional hockey player, Mike Peluso who claimed a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995. Bob is the hockey coach of the Greenway Raiders in Coleraine, Minnesota.  WALTER J. GILBERT (Wally) [1919]: Wally was born on December 19, 1900 and became a professional baseball and football player. He played for teams like Brooklyn NY (1928-1931) and the Cincinnati Reds (1932-1933). Gilbert also played football for Denfeld and for the professional NFL team Kelley-Duluth (1921-1926). The Kelley name was changed in 1926 and the team became the Duluth Eskimos. Wally took part in the very first NFL summer training camp in Two Harbors in 1926. Gilbert died on September 7, 1958. In 2008, the 1920's Duluth Eskimos were immortalized in the Hollywood movie Leatherheads starring George Clooney and Renée Zellweger. The movie took place in Duluth and had a mixture of fact and fiction. A book with the same title was also written about the history of the team.  ROGER GRIMSBY [1946]: Roger became a news reporter and anchor for such monster TV satations as WABC in New York and KGO in San Francisco. Roger won many awards including several Emmys and Associated Press Awards. When Chevy Chase used to anchor the "WEEKEND UPDATE" on Saturday Night Live, he would open with the line "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" Chevy was mocking Grimsby's line, "Good evening, I'm Roger Grimsby; here now the news." Roger also played news anchors in many movies including: Nothing But Trouble (1991), Power (1986), Ghostbusters (1984), The Exterminator (1980), Turk 182! (1985), Bananas (1971), and helped to pioneer the "EYEWITNESS NEWS" style. Roger also appeared on such TV shows as The Equalizer (1988), To Tell The Truth, and Ryan's Hope (1975). Roger's broadcast career started at WEBC in Duluth. Roger died on June 23, 1995.  ANDREW C. GUNDERSON [1993]: In 2007, Andrew won a $58,570 prize at the 38th Annual World Series of Poker, WSOP No Limit Hold'em Championship.  STEPHEN T. HAGEN [1964]: Steve is an ordained Buddhist Zen priest and the author of many books on Buddhism including Buddhism Is Not What You Think, How the World Can Be the Way It Is, and the best-selling Buddhism Plain and Simple. Hagen founded the Dharma Field Zen Center in Minneapolis.  MARCIA HALES (Nyquist) [1963]: Former Duluth City Councilor and candidate for Minnesota State House of Representatives. Marcia is also known for setting up a very large Christmas display at her Duluth home, including setting up 24,000 lights! She has won awards for her display and had about 10,000 visitors to her home in the winter of 1999. In October of 2000, Marcia appeared in the national publication The Christian Science Monitor.  ARMOND H. HAUGE [1946]: Armond left a $3.2 million fortune to Denfeld after he passed away at the age of 81 in December of 2006. His fortune came from just saving money and living a simple and modest life. He began working at the age of six as a newspaper boy for the Duluth News-Tribune. He later worked as a mechanic for Ryland Ford. Hauge's niece said "Education was a big thing for him. He wanted to help kids because he never had any of his own and never got married".  JIM HEFFERNAN [1957]: A popular columnists and Editor for the Duluth News-Tribune. Jim began working for the Duluth Tribune/Herald in 1963 and retired in December of 2005, but continued to write his column until June of 2008. In one of his columns, Jim reflected on a day of horror at Denfeld: "One day at Denfeld, my pants disintegrated...I spilled battery acid on my khakis, so I changed pants and didn't give it another thought. The stained khakis went through the wash, and I wore them to school a few days later. Sitting in homeroom in the morning, I remember looking down and watching the front of the khakis disappear before my eyes. They turned to dust." On October 23, 2003, Mayor Gary Doty proclaimed it to be Jim Heffernan Day in Duluth. In 2008, Jim announced the publication of his book Cooler Near the Lake. Jim writes a monthly column for the Duluth-Superior Magazine.  GEORGE (LEWIS) HELGESON [1941]: CEO of Helgeson Scientific Services, a company that provides emergency services to nuclear industries. George also served in the U.S. Army during World War II and has worked for General Electric and California Nuclear.  ROGER M. HOLMES [1954]: Roger worked for the Minnesota DNR for 41 years including ten years as director of the Fish and Wildlife Division. In 2008, a 1000-acre wildlife management area was named in his honor. The area is located near Alexandria, Minnesota and cost over $1,800,000. Holmes passed away on December 17, 2008.  MARIE HOLMSTRAND (Gunderson) [Attended]: Marie is a nationally known and award winning author. Holmstrand's first published story came at the age of 17. Since then, Marie has had hundreds of stories published as well as two novels including Hijacked Harvest. She won the Boy’s Life-Dodd Mead Award for her book Trouble at Turtle Bay in 1952. Marie passed away on January 3, 2006.  RICHARD P. HOLMSTROM (Rick) [1965]: Duluth defense attorney since 1973. Rick has defended such high profile clients as Donald Blom who murdered Katie Poirier and Joseph Wehmanen who murdered Erik Schrieffer. Both of these cases were featured on Court TV's Forensic Files program. Some other clients include Brett Laine who allegedly murdered Nancy Jagunich, Peter James Klassen who was accused of killing his baby, and Kellie Sater who allegedly took part in the gang execution of William Booth.  KATHERINE J. HOOEY [1960]: After she passed away in 2006 at the age of 62, Hooey left her entire estate to help local animals. The $335,000 donation was divided up between the Duluth Zoo, the Friends of Animals Humane Society of Carlton County, and the Animal Allies Humane Society of Duluth. Katherine's sister said, "It broke her heart to see these animals in these cages...She’d go down and walk the dogs and talk to the cats and the kittens. It hurt her. Not that they were treated badly, it was the environment they were in that really got to her."  BARBARA F. HUMPHREY (Barker) [1953]: Barbara began her television career at KDAL-TV Channel 3 in 1955. She performed live commercials and served as the "Princess of Prizes" with Hunter Como. Barbara moved to the Twin Cities and worked at such stations as KTCA-TV, WCCO-TV, and WTCN-TV. Barbara is a free lance commercial actor who has done dozens of voice overs. She has also done acting work for industrial training videos and national commercials like Goodyear Tires, Best Buy, Piggly Wiggly, Miracle Ear, and Slumberland. Humphrey has acted in a number of theatrical shows including touring nationally with the shows Ramona Quimby, On Golden Pond, Steel Magnolias, Driving Miss Daisy, and A Child's Christmas in Wales. Some of her local shows include Ten Years Later, Two Rooms, Fifth of July, and A Streetcar Named Desire.  BRUCE ROBERT ISABELL [1970]: Robert Isabell became a famous floral designer in New York. Some of his work included weddings for Arnold Schwarzenegger, John F. Kennedy Jr., Caroline Kennedy, Marie-Chantal Miller, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Prince Alexandre Egon von Fürstenberg. He also designed a White House Christmas party during the Clinton administration including a large 1500 light wreath. The famous New York nightclub Studio 54 was also a client. He did the funerals of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Paul Mellon. The editor of Vogue Magazine called Isabell "the king of the event world". Isabell passed away on July 8, 2009 at the age of 57.  ROLLEN "BUD" C. & CAROL JOHNSON [1945]: Bud & Carol both attended Denfeld with Carol graduating in 1945. They are the parents of baseball legend Randy Johnson. Randy was born in 1963 in Walnut Creek, California. Randy is a five time Cy Young Award winner and has played for the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2004 at age 40, Randy became the oldest person in Major League Baseball history to pitch a perfect game. Only 17 people have ever pitched a perfect Major League game. Carol lives in California and Bud passed away on December 26, 1992 and is buried at Oneota Cemetery in West Duluth.  LARRY H. JOHNSON [1953]: Movie & Television script writer and producer. Larry wrote the scripts for movies like Dance Of The Dwarfs (1983) starring Peter Fonda and Lord Love A Duck (1966) starring Martin Gable, Roddy McDowall, and Harvey Korman. Mr. Johnson won the Samuel Goldwyn Award for Creative Writing for The Remittance Man. Larry attended both Harvard and UCLA.  BEN JUKICH [2001]: Ben is a rising star in baseball. He has played for the Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers, the Kane County Cougars, the Chattanooga Lookouts, and the Louisville Bats. In June of 2006, Ben signed a contract with the Oakland Athletics in a 13th-round draft pick to play for Single-A Vancouver. In 2009, Jukich was one of just a handfull of Minor League baseball players invited to the Cincinnati Reds spring training camp. Ben has a twin brother named Andy.  DR. DAVID KARPELES [1953]: Businessman, author, computer program designer, and the founder and C.E.O. of the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums located accross the U.S. including one in Duluth. Dr. Karpeles has the world's largest private collection of historical documents and manuscripts. His collection includes a 1787 Ethan Allen letter (American Revolution), an 1876 check written by Thomas Edison (Inventor), a John Sutter letter (California Gold Rush), an original draft of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, an original draft of the Star Spangled Banner, music written by Beethoven, a proclamation written by the Pope in the 1100's, and an original copy of the Bill of Rights worth over $1 Million. David also put together the first operating optical character recognition computer program and developed an artificial intelligence computer program. Karpeles biography is told in the book A Treasury of Minnesota Tales  WILLIAM J. KRON (Bill) [1964]: Bill served as a St. Louis County Commissioner from 1977 to 2008 and has served as the president of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. Kron has a bachelor of science degree from UMD and once served in the U.S. Navy. Bill has been a business owner and has worked as a zookeeper.  JOYCE LAMONT [1934]: Joyce is a broadcast legend who began working for Minneapolis radio station WCCO in 1946 as the continuity director. In 1950 she became an annoucer and worked at WCCO until 1989. She co-hosted a morning show called "Dayton's Musical Chimes" with Howard Viken. Joyce was so well liked that she used to get about 10,000 letters per month from her listeners. She became known as the "recipe lady" after giving out many recipes over the air. After leaving WCCO, Joyce hosted a weekday morning show on KLBB-AM in Minneapolis. Joyce was inducted into the Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2001. Lamont retired in 2003. Joyce is the author of the book Joyce Lamont's Favorite Minnesota Recipes and Radio Memories.  DENNIS L. LARSEN [1973]: A U.S. Postal Inspector. In May of 2002, Dennis investigated a case where several chemical bombs were placed in mailboxes and exploded in Washington State. In 2003, Dennis investigated a suspicious letter addressed to President George W. Bush. The envelope contained powder and a wire.  LEW LATTO [1958]: A long time radio personality and station owner. Lew began in radio when he was only 14 years old and has worked for a number of stations including WEBC, WDSM, WKLK, KRBT and WAKX. Lew is the owner of WEVE-FM & KRBT-AM in Eveleth, and KGPZ-FM in Grand Rapids. He served seven years as a Duluth City Councilor and served as the director of the National Association of FM Broadcasters. In 1959, Lew was the emcee for the Buddy Holly concert in Duluth. This concert also featured the "Big Bopper" and Ritchie Valens. All three of these stars would die just a few days later in a plane crash in Iowa. Lew who met Buddy Holly at his hotel room, is mentioned in the book The Day the Music Died by Larry Lehmer. Latto was inducted into the Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2003 and met with Governor Tim Pawlenty. Lew is the host of Lew Latto Live on WDSM 710 AM.  LLOYD R. LUKE [1960]: Lloyd is the owner of Lloyd's cleaning products made in Duluth and distributed nation wide since 1987. Some of the Lloyd's line of products include All Purpose Cleaner, Carpet Cleaner & Shampoo, Industrial Degreaser, Floor Cleaner, and Formula 99 grease remover. The company sells about 2,200 gallons of the all-purpose cleaner every month and is used to clean department stores, restaurants, and about 200 supermarkets accross the country.  BOB LUND [1938]: Former Vice President of General Motors Corporation and General Manager of Chevrolet (1974-1982), Pontiac and Cadillac (1973-1974). Bob was the creating force behind the Chevette. Mr. Lund was also a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In the mid 1930's, Bob was a paper boy for the Duluth Budgeteer.  TRACY LUNDEEN [1972]: Former Board Member of the Duluth State Convention Center, Founder of the Duluth Bridal Show and the Duluth Fun Fair, Co-founder of the Bayfront Blues Festival, Former Vice President of the Duluth Public Arts Commission, Co-Creator of the Bayfront Festival Park, and Owner of Show-Pro. Tracy is also the star of Jungle Sam and the Singin' Safari Band and was part of the popular band QuickBreath. Lundeen can be heard on KDAL Radio 610 AM on the show NORTHLAND CALLING.  THOMAS A. LUNDGREN [1960]: Tom is a popular radio announcer who goes by the name of Tom Allen. Lundgren hosts a radio show called Country Gold at KVET-FM in Austin, Texas. Before working at KVET, Tom spent 17 years hosting the morning show at KASE-FM in Austin and has worked for stations in Hartford, Seattle, St. Louis, Dallas, and Detroit. Tom Allen has been nominated by the CMA as DJ of the year. Tom also served on the original planning committee of Nashville's Country Radio Seminar.  PAUL A. LUNDGREN [1991]: Paul graduated from UWS in 1996 with a mass communications degree. Lundgren has worked as an editor for both the Duluth Budgeteer News and The Ripsaw News and has written for the Northland Reader, The Ripsaw, and Business North publications as well as for the public relations firm of H.T. Klatzky & Associates. Paul founded the famous Duluth Geek Prom in 2002. The Geek Prom has been written about in newspapers accross the country and has been featured on Fox News, and both Minnesota & Wisconsin Public Radio. According to the Geek Prom web site, Paul has worked as a newspaper editor, radio announcer, and as a convenience store toilet swabber.  |