Arthur William Reese class of 1959
Arthur Reese, 79, of Bemidji, MN passed away with his first love by his side, after an 8 year battle with cancer on Saturday, April 3, 2021 at his home.
A memorial visitation will be held from 4-6:00pm, Friday, April 9, 2021, at Cease Family Funeral Home in Bemidji, MN. A Celebration of Life will be held for his family this summer in Wisconsin. Arrangements are with the Cease Family Funeral Home in Bemidji.
He was born on July 11, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lauren and Winifred (Stehr) Reese. He graduated from Okemos High School in Okemos, MI in 1959. He served Active Duty in the US Marine Corps from 1959 until 1960, and spent another six years in the Marine Corps Reserve. He attended Michigan State University graduating with a B.S. Degree in Industrial/Multiple Use Forestry in 1964, and a Master’s of Science Degree in Forest Economics in 1965. He began his career in 1966 with the US Forest Service as a Field Forester and Planning Staffer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1979, he started his own business, a sawmill in Blackduck, MN. He also taught Logging Business Management and Logging Safety at the Bemidji Vo-Tech from 1979 until 1981. In 1980 he began Reese and Associates, a forestry consulting business, this expanded into Reese ROW Control, a full service right of way clearing and maintenance contractor, recently focusing on habitat remediation.
Relative to his powerline clearing, Art gained a reputation of, “If a tree needed a branch removed – the whole tree was removed.” His forestry background is evident in a birthday card he sent his brother: “50 is not old…if you are a tree”. In his cross-country skiing days, he was nicknamed Snowbeast.
He is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Judy Reese, Daughters Laura Brocklehurst, Kate Colino, Teresa Pfister, Brothers, Allan Reese, Wallace Reese, 7 Grandchildren, and 3 Great-Grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents Lauren and Winifred Reese, step-mother Leta Steffler, and nephew Thomas Reese.
Memorials are preferred to the Northwoods Habitat for Humanity in Bemidji, or the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Condolences may be left at ceasefuneralhome.com.
Bemidji Pioneer 4-5-2021
“You should mention that Art was a member of OHS’s 1st wrestling team in the winter of 1958.”
Bob Stetler class of 1959
https://www.ceasefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Arthur-William-Reese?obId=20637208