Condolence From: Sandy Kallunki
Condolence: Bernie was like a member of our family. We will miss him.
Friday November 10, 2017
Condolence From: Rebecca Rucker-Keegan
Condolence: Visiting Bernie was always an experience I looked forward to. His stories told a history of Calumet that otherwise I would never have appreciated. His home with it’s pristine Youngstown metal sink and linoleum kitchen rug, his sister’s piano, his shining painted plank floors to his basement was like entering a museum. And of course he always had smiles and endless jokes for his visitors.
Thursday November 09, 2017
Condolence From: Mikko Halonen
Condolence: Didn't know his name til' his obituary, but he was our "Grader Man" in Rambletown. We'd stand in snowbank and watch "Mr. Grader"plow the street w/ powerful grader. We'd wave to him and just like in storybook, he'd smile (just like he is in this picture) and wave back to us kids. We thought he had the coolest job in world! Glad he smiled back so we knew he was real.
Wednesday November 08, 2017
Condolence From: Deb Kallunki-Gotham
Condolence: Like my sisters, I always enjoyed stopping at Bernie's. He had a great memory for jokes and he was good at delivering them. He kept us laughing. Bernie was ray of sunshine, always happy to welcome whoever showed up at his door. Entering his house, filled with vintage furnishings, was like stepping back in time. He'll be missed by three generations of Kallunkis.
Wednesday November 08, 2017
Condolence From: Lois Kallunki
Condolence: Here are a collection of photos of Bernie and various members of the Kallunki family. My dad Gordon had three sisters. There is one photo in this collection of Bernie with my dad and two of his sisters, all of whom grew up across the street from Bernie in Calumet.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EJ5cx2NzA8uCQDhC2
Like my sister, Jackie, I have very pleasant memories of visiting Bernie at his home in Calumet. It was fun to get to know someone my dad knew as a child, especially when Bernie still lived in the old neighborhood. I remember visiting my grandparents in that house across Acorn St. in the 1950s. So, getting to know Bernie was an extension of the distant but familiar past for me.
Sunday November 05, 2017
Condolence From: Jackie Kallunki
Condolence: Bernie's family lived across the street from my dad's family, and he and my dad, Gordon Kallunki, were in the same class in school and were life-long friends. They had similar stories about growing up during the copper mining era in Calumet. We moved away from Calumet to Ontonagon in 1954, but still visited relatives there for decades.
I didn't know Bernie until I was an adult, when we "kids" began to go with my parents to visit him. As these two guys became the last of their cohort of buddies, my dad frequently said, "Let's go visit Bernie." We'd call from the road to alert him, stop for pasties and ice cream, and have lunch in his immaculate vintage kitchen. No matter how many we were, he was always welcoming He and my dad would talk about local and national news and stories about Calumet and have a shot of whatever Bernie had in his closet.
Because we were made to feel so welcome and found Bernie so interesting, whenever any of us "kids" were visiting my mother after my dad passed away in 2012, we continued the tradition. We continued our visits (without the pasty) after Bernie ended up in long-term care. Even though he was not happy with how the last phase of his life was playing out, he was always cheerful, gracious, and thankful when we appeared. He did not complain and instead asked each of us what was happening in our lives and was glad to hear our stories.
I'm going to miss him. I hope he and my dad are in a tidy kitchen exchanging jokes and stories and good feelings about the lives they lived.
Saturday November 04, 2017
