NORMAN CEAGLSKE JR.

A Gathering of Family and Friends will be held from 1:00 - 3:00 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2023 at the Hamilton Funeral Homes - Rock Chapel in Braham. 

A private family inurnment will be in the East Chain Lutheran Cemetery near East Chain, MN. 

**IN LIEU OF FLOWERS; MEMORIALS ARE PREFERRED TO THE GRACEPOINTE CROSSING BENELOVENT FUND. (see the link below to donate)

Norman H. Ceaglske Jr, formerly of Stanchfield, passed away on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at GracePointe Crossing in Cambridge, MN.  He was 86 years old.

Norman was born on May 22, 1936 in Madison, Wisconsin to parents Norman Sr. and Lucille (Ostby) Ceaglske.  They moved to Saint Louis, Missouri and then to Minneapolis, MN.  Norman spent family time at his parent’s cabin in Three Lakes WI, with his siblings, Nancy and Jean.  This is where his love of nature began which was a theme carried throughout his life. He loved photography from taking the pictures to processing them to the final product, this also continued throughout his lifetime.  

At age 15 he received his Ham Radio license that he held for 70 years. 

He graduated from Washburn High School in 1954. Then he started college at the University of Minnesota.  

He worked a summer at Glacier National Park, as a driver of the classic Red Buses that they still use to this day.

His father was a professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota and received the “Fulbright Scholarship” which provided an opportunity to “swap” jobs for teaching at the university in Norway, so for a year they lived in Norway.  Norman and Jean went with for the year.  Norman would talk about how he would get his haircut and he wanted to practice his Norwegian on the barber, but the barber and others waiting for a haircut would want to practice their English on him.

He graduated in 1960 from the University of Minnesota, with a degree in Electrical Engineering and started working for Northern States Power (NSP). While working at NSP, Norman lived with his parents in Minneapolis, MN.  He knew a friend that lived in the apartment nearby, so they decided to commute to downtown Minneapolis together and she invited her roommate to ride along. The roommate worked for United Airlines and was Beverly Cole.  They were married August 31, 1963 at the East Chain Lutheran church.  This union produced Janet, Randy and Kenny over the years.

Norman and Beverly purchased property in Hackensack, MN (nicknamed “the Farm”) which was necessary to get out of the city and be in nature.   He enjoyed camping, fishing, target shooting, bird watching and he allowed his friend’s Minneapolis Boy Scout troop to have a camp on the property, so the troop had someplace to get out of the city.

Because of Beverly’s influence of working for the airlines, Norman decided to get his small aircraft pilot license.  (His parent’s weren’t excited about this).

In 1970, Norman and Beverly moved with their 2 children Janet and Randy to a small town called Braham, MN for Norman to work for East Central Electric (now East Central Energy).   During this time there were many camping trips to “The Farm”.  It started as a tent, moved up to a pop-up camper and graduated to an airstream trailer (silver bullet).   
Beverly found an airstream club called the Wally Byam caravan group, and in 1977 the family traveled to the Wally Byam 20th Annual National Rally in Bozeman, Montana (3,949 “silver bullet” campers were in attendance).  After the Rally there were tours offered, Norman chose a one month tour through the Western United states (Montana, Idaho, Utah and Colorado).  This tour included a ride on the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge railroad through the mountains, a visit to 4 corners monument, climbing through the Mesa Verde ruins and a stop at the Salt Lake City Hospital for Kenny’s thumb.

In the summer of 1979, the family hosted Ranveig Haugen, a 4-H exchange student from Norway for a month. 
There was another airstream trip in 1981.  The Wally Byam Rally was in Ames, Iowa with 4,000 trailers in attendance. The tour afterward was through Iowa and Wisconsin.  In 1987 Kenny got to go on the 3rd tour with his parents alone, because his siblings were in college or working.  This tour was through the Western Canadian Mountains.  In 1991 Norman and Beverly did Western Canada and Alaska with the Airstream group.  

In 1992 Norman and Beverly moved to Rush Lake where he enjoyed his pontoon, canoe, fishing, watching all kinds of wildlife, especially the turtles that sat on the boards he placed in the lake.  He also had a workshop for his many woodworking projects.  The love of woodworking came from his grandfather and father who were also woodworkers.  The lake gave him more time for his passion of woodworking reading non-fiction books (any and all kinds).  He enjoyed listening to a wide variety of music.  And many hours were spent on his computer.
He retired from ECE in 1994 to do some serious travel and enjoy the lake life, motorhome adventures, along with all of his hobbies.   

His love of photography continued into retirement and helped record their many travels including:
1995 Norway:  Oslo, Gelo, Hardangervida, Bergen, Alesund, Trondheim and Lilihammar
1996 Panama Canal via Cruise
MN Zepher Train Ride
Elderhostel #1: Maplelag
1997  Fairbanks Alaska to Anchorage by train, Anchorage to Vancouver by cruise.
1998  Phoenix AZ
Elderhostel #2: Lutsen
Elderhostel #3: Mystic Seaport (Amistad ship)
1999  Elderhostel #4: Wabasha MN (Eagle Watch)
Elderhostel #5: Norway/Sweden (including a visit to Ranveig)
Elderhostel #6: Gota Canal
Elderhostel #7:  Wisconsin Dells (Bicycling)
Elderhostel #8:  Geneva Bay  
2000  Elderhostel #9:  New Zealand and Australia
Mackinac Island and Agawa Canyon Train excursion
2001  Elderhostel #10: Hawaii Cruise Tour USS Independence
Elderhostel #11: Faeroe Islands and Iceland
Elderhostel #12:  Door County, WI
2002  Elderhostel #13:  Denmark, Sweden and Norway
Colorado trains
Elderhostel #14: Hostfest Minot, ND
2003  Upper Peninsula Michigan
2004  Lake Superior Tour
Warrens WI Cranberry Festival
2006   Elderhostel #15: Lanesboro - Ibsen Festival
2006  Elderhostel #16:   Bayfield WI – Big Top Chautauqua
Elderhostel #17:  Superior WI - Barkers Island
2007  Elderhostel #18:  Edinburgh, Orkney, Shetland, Norway, Spitzbergen  
Elderhostel #19:  Mackinac Island, MI
Arctic Circle – Ice Breaker Ship
2008  Elderhostel#20:  Copper Canyon
Elderhostel #21:  Big Bend National Park
Elderhostel #22:  La Crosse, Julia Belle Swain
2009  Oshkosh and Madison WI
2014  Elderhostel #23:  Lanesboro Ibsen Festival
2015  Elderhostel #24:  Hot Springs SD – Wooly Mammoth Dig
And many less organized trips to visit family in Wyoming, Tennessee and many other places.

Norman is preceded in death by his parents and son Randall “Randy” Ceaglske.

He is survived by his wife Beverly; daughter Janet Ceaglske-Muhich; son Kenneth “Kenny” (Tammy) Ceaglske; 6 grandchildren, Michelle (Drew) Wahl, Jorgan (Clarissa) Staupe, Garrett Johnson, Grant Ceaglske, Emma Ceaglske, and Lucy Ceaglske; great grandchildren, Remmy and Colton Wahl, and Jorgen and Jacob Staupe; sisters, Nancy Neumann and Jean (John) Payne; many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of NORMAN CEAGLSKE JR., please visit our floral store.