Ilona Messner

She was born on May 28, 1939, in the home in Tamarack, a daughter of Pentti and Ellen (Moilanen) Makkonen.

Ilona graduated from Dollar Bay High School in 1957. She worked at Montgomery Ward in Houghton and at Michigan Bell as an operator until 1962, when the dial system came in. She enjoyed crafting and made crafts for the Traditions store and Copperland. She loved knitting, crocheting, and painting.

Ilona was married to Russell E. Messner on May 14, 1960, at Saint John’s Lutheran Church in Hubbell.

She was a member of the Saint John’s Lutheran Church where she sang in the choir. She was a member of the Tamarack City Women’s Club for several years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, stepfather-Willard Alcenius, and an infant brother-Gary.

She is survived by: her husband-Russell; 4 sons-Craig (Marcy) of Tamarack, Scott of Washington, Chris (Won Hee) of Tamarack, and Kyle (Amanda) of Tennessee; grandchildren-Shannon (Dylan) Karpinen, Hailey (Kenneth) Lambert, Olivia, Shaneva, Samantha, Scott, Jr., Jorja, Miranda, Lauren, Megan, and Wynter; great-grandchildren-Aubrey, Emmalynn, Leila, Talia, Gunner, Teddylynn, and Lincoln; a sister-Charlotte (George) Leinonen; niece-Jodi; nephew-Cory; sisters-in-law-Ruth and Dorothy; and numerous other relatives.

A private family service will be held at the Pearce Funeral Home in Lake Linden. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Saint John’s Lutheran Church Memorial Fund.

Online condolences may be shared at pearcefuneralhome.com.