Warren F. Hudelson
Warren F. Hudelson, 66, passed peacefully at his home at Balsam Lake, Minnesota from brain cancer with his loving wife, Sharon, at his side on September 27
th
, 2015.
Born to William F and Elizabeth M (Morency) Hudelson in Minneapolis on March 29, 1949, Hudelson had a deep love for Northern Minnesota and made many contributions in the area. He graduated Hibbing High School 1967, was honorably discharged from the Army Air National Guard in 1970, and received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis in 1972. He married his Hibbing high school sweetheart Sharon Ann Abel at Balsam Lake in September of 1972.
Hudelson had a varied career in broadcast journalism, corporate public affairs, and non-ferrous mine development. During his early career in broadcast journalism, his voice was heard on WMFG in Hibbing, WAYL and KUOM Minneapolis, KOOK in Billings Montana, and then finally as news director of radio and television for KDAL in Duluth from 1974-1979. During that time he reported the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald live by radio phone with the captain the Arthur M. Anderson, the last ship to have sight of the Fitzgerald before it sank, and also broke the story of the Congdon murders.
Following the birth of their first daughter, Hudelson became corporate communications manager for Minnesota Power where he contributed to development of the operations power pool and communicated with the public for 21 years. When the lines were down or the lights were out, you would hear Hudelson on the radio informing customers on the cause and duration of the outage. As one of his final acts before taking early retirement, he jokingly turned off the light switch in the command center as the clock struck midnight on Y2K. Following his time at Minnesota power he served as executive vice president of development for Polymet Mining to work with investor relations and communications.
Because of his commitment to the quality of life in Northern Minnesota, Hudelson was involved in a number of volunteer leadership positions supporting economic and community development. He was instrumental in helping to create the tourism industry in Duluth by leading the envisioning of the boardwalk and canal park areas as chairman of the Duluth Convention and visitor bureau, chair of the greater downtown council, and a participant in the mayor’s economic development committee. For over a decade he also served on the board of directors for WDSE television and the Beck foundation supporting public television in Duluth. In his role on board of the Iron Mining Association he also supported communities on the Iron Range.
In his free time, Hudelson was a pilot, outdoor enthusiast, and craftsman. He piloted various high performance seaplanes and landplanes for over 30 years and frequented wilderness outposts in Northwest Ontario, Alaska, and various locations in the Arctic. These trips led to many adventures in fishing and game hunting with friends and family. He and his family handcrafted a traditional Finnish sauna and log house using red pine from the family’s rural homestead of 5 generations.
He is survived by loving wife of 43 years, Sharon Abel Hudelson of Balsam Lake; and daughters Nordica Ann (Lance) MacCarty of Corvallis, Oregon and Jamie Rae (Ben) Miller of Maple Grove; three grandchildren: Livia (6), Odin (5), Carter (2); siblings Vicki Hudelson of Eden Prairie, Karen Hudelson of Minneapolis, Carl (Diane) Hudelson of Hibbing and Lee (Tracy) Hudelson of Hibbing; and 26 nieces and nephews with 42 great-nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Scott (Mary) Hudelson.
Services will be held at 1 PM on Friday October 2
nd
at the Balsam Bible Chapel at 41516 Scenic Highway, Bovey MN, with reception following at the community center next door. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit
www.doughertyofhibbing.com
.
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