Gregory Gene Junttonen

Greg was born on Feb. 12, 1964, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the son of the late Earl and Mary Ann (Trasti) Junttonen, later moving with his family to Painesdale and graduating with the Jeffers High School Class of 1982. He attended Gogebic Community College, earning his associate degree in Licensed Practical Nursing and in 1991, Greg graduated from Suomi College, receiving an associate degree in Registered Nursing; early in his career, he was employed at the Portage View Hospital in Hancock.

In 1993, Greg moved to the Hawaiian island of Oahu, continuing his nursing career for the next 32 years. For the past nine years he was employed as a home healthcare nurse at Kama’aina Health Services, where he was beloved by both his colleagues and clients alike.

Greg was known by everyone in his life as a very kind, loving and generous person, with a wonderful sense of humor that was complimented by a devilish prankster side, earning him the reputation of being a jokester.

While at Jeffers, as a member of the swim team, he set individual records in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle events, along with sharing the record for the 400-yard freestyle relay event; set in 1982, all three records still stand today. Greg also enjoyed boating, swimming, water skiing, parasailing, horseback riding and camping, along with music from the classic groups of the 70’s and 80’s – his favorite being Stevie Nicks & Fleetwood Mac. Simple things like Old Dutch potato chips, old-fashioned candies and vintage Christmas lights, thunderstorms, pasties and snow. Precious things such as his sister Colleen’s homemade fudge, cinnamon rolls and prune tarts. Always true to his Finnish heritage, Greg loved saunas and eagerly awaited Michigan vacations so that he could enjoy them, including dome tent saunas on the shore. Perhaps his greatest pleasure came from his property on Lake Superior in Misery Bay, where he built his unique retirement dream home, spent his vacations and generously shared this beautiful environment with his family and friends, even when he was not there.

Greg was also very ecologically minded. He always searched for ways to reuse, repurpose and recycle. He had a hack for everything. Little was ever simply thrown out; Greg constantly looked beyond to find additional value in whatever it was. He was very concerned about the Earth and the consequences, to us and the world around us, of being wasteful.

Greg was preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Mary Ann Junttonen; aunts Violet (Junttonen) Kuusisto, Lois (Junttonen) Rintala, Laurian (Junttonen) Osantowski and Alice (Trasti) Taskila; and uncles Calvin Junttonen, Vernon Harju and Paul Trasti.

Greg is survived by his sister, Colleen (Junttonen) Heine of Painesdale; nephews Emmett Heine of DeWitt, Steven Suhonen of Mansfield, Texas, and Joshua Suhonen of DeWitt; and aunts Rita (Trasti) Lindgren (Richard) of Tamarack City, Lucille (Trasti) Mihelac of Painesdale and Neldine (Harju) Smith of West Bend, Wisconsin. Greg is also survived by numerous cousins and a circle of caring and loving friends, far too many to count.

Greg’s Michigan family and friends would like to thank the Pali Momi Medical Center for the compassionate care that he received during this difficult time, as well as to his Hawaiian family for all their kindness and various acts of support. They will always be remembered and truly appreciated.

A memorial will be held in the Copper Country later this year, offering all his family and friends the opportunity to remember Greg and to celebrate his life.

The Ballard Family Moanalua Mortuary in Honolulu is assisting Greg’s family with arrangements.