Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Gary Curtis Mattila, age 60 of Cokato, MN passed away after a 2 year battle with cancer on Nov 13, 2014. He was born on Oct 13, 1954 in Cokato, MN to Jerald and Mildred Mattila and grew up in Dassel. He married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Raisanen on Jan 12, 1974 and were blessed with 9 children and 40 years of marriage.

Gary attended the Sales and Marketing Program at Hutchinson Vo-Tech, and was a salesman in the agriculture field for his entire working career. Gary retired in April of 2014 due to his cancer.

Gary had many hobbies, such as hunting, bird watching, fly fishing, tying flies, rod building and traveling to many destinations to explore new fishing spots with Fort Smith, Montana becoming a favorite place to travel with friends to fish and relax. He enjoyed duck, pheasant and deer hunting with his sons and grandsons. Since retirement, you would see Gary and his favorite companion, Bear by his side everywhere he went. Gary also loved spending time with any of his 30 grandchildren, visiting on the porch, going places or just hanging out.

He is survived by his wife Nancy of Cokato, Children, Jeremy (Stacy), Kimberly (Steve) Parks, of Dassel, Karla (Dale) Hoikka, of Cokato, Shanna (Greg) Koivisto of Dassel, Michael (Stephanie) of Cokato, Jason of Brainerd, Jill (Austin) Clarke of Birchwood, WI, Derek of Howard Lake, and Holly of Minnetonka. 30 Grandchildren, Grace Mattila, Joslyn, Russell, Leila, Vince, Tori, Emmett, Natalee, Eddy Parks, Clarke, Juliana, Lewis, Robert, Dakota, Zane and Benjamin Hoikka, Blayne, Abigail, Nicholas, Hans, Jack, Andrew, Ellen, Greta, Clayton Koivisto, Lauren, Erica, Kendra, Mallory Mattila, Chloe Clarke. His parents,Jerald and Mildred of Dassel, Sisters and brothers, Phillip (Caroline) of Williston, ND, Susan (Mike) Jurmu of Loretto, Carol (Doug) Wuollet of Cokato, Daniel of Dassel, Barbara (David) Wuollet of Plymouth, Maria Bratt of Becker, John (Rita) of Cokato, Mary (Joe) Lehtola of Buffalo, Nancy (Trevor) Simonson of Saskatchewan, Canada, Linda (John) Parks, Sara (Chuck) Wuollet, Samuel (Annika), Eric (Juliana) of Cokato, Mother n law, Dorothy Raisanen of Cokato,Brother and Sister in laws, David (Karen), Mike (Tracey) Raisanen, of Dassel, Keith (Heidi) Raisanen, Mary (Jay) Peipenburg of Cokato, Mark (Jodi) Raisanen of Buffalo, Katie (Luke) Bonawitz of Richfield, nieces, nephews, godchildren and many relatives and friends.

Gary was preceded in death by Brothers, Steven and Robert, and father in law, Niilo Raisanen.

Visitation, Sunday, Nov. 16, 4-8 PM with 7 PM prayer, and 1 hour prior to services on Monday.

Funeral, Monday, Nov. 17, 2 PM, all at Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church.

Lynn Ann Knutson passed away at her home in Howard Lake on November 12, 2014
Funeral Service will be at 2:00 PM. pm Saturday, November 15 at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Howard Lake

Hanson, Norman Russell
age 79, of Howard Lake, passed away on November 11, 2014. He was born September 8, 1935 in Grove City, MN to Raymond and Mildred Hanson. He attended school in Willmar, MN and moved to Chicago, IL., before returning to Minnesota and was united in marriage to Judith Swanson on October 28, 1967 in Minneapolis, MN. This union was blessed with 5 children. They later moved to Howard Lake, MN. Norman was a hard worker and enjoyed working on cars in his spare time. He retired from the Radison hotel as an engineer.
Survived by his wife of 47 years, children, Warren, Kristal, Russell (Debbie), Benjamin, and Amanda, grandchildren, Jade Grunau, Nicole Niesen, Shane Hanson, Shelby Reid, Jessica Hanson, Jenny Hanson, Russell Hanson Jr., Eric Miller, and Levi Miller, sister, Floris (Donald) Strand, nieces, Gail Gilbert, and Mardee (Dean) Tjepkes, nephews, Jeff (Cher) Strand, and Donald (Pam) Strand Jr., along with several other relatives and friends.
Preceded in death by his parents, and brother, LeRoy.
Funeral service, Monday, November 17, 2014, 11:00 AM with visitation 1 hr prior to the service at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home in Howard Lake

Gregory Allen Hillukka, 40, of Cokato, MN passed away due to a car accident on November 5, 2014.

He was born on August 14, 1974 in Detroit Lakes, MN and his childhood home was in Wolf Lake, MN. After high school, he lived in Fargo-Moorhead while attending college. He spent a few years near Carbondale, CO, but spent most of his adult life in MN. Greg was joined in marriage to the love of his life Jaclyn Mattila on June 18, 2005 in Monroe, WA.

Greg owned and operated a local construction company along with his brother Gary for several years. More recently, he worked in Williston, ND fracking oil.

Greg was intelligent, charming, passionate, and funny. People interacting with Greg always felt his caring presence. He loved to hunt, fish, play and talk about sports such as softball, football, and hockey. Greg was a dedicated father, loving husband and son, protective and fun brother, big dreamer and a great people lover. He was an active member of Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church.

He is survived by his wife Jaclyn Hillukka, his children Faye (8), Slade (7), Cora (6), Bryer (5), Brynn (4), Kyla (3), and Ladd (2). He is also survived by his parents, Ernie and Rauha Hillukka, 3 siblings Jodi (Patrick) Tierney, Gary (Aimee) Hillukka, Julie (Jeffrey) Early, father- and mother-in-law Bradley and Maureen (Simonson) Mattila, sisters- and brothers-in-law Erica (Brian) Forstie, Scott Mattila, Courtney (Mike) Kesti, Drew (Ashley) Mattila, Brittany (Bryce) Niskanen, Chase (Lorelle) Mattila, Taryn Mattila, Bree Mattila, Paige Mattila. He also will be missed by many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and close friends.

The visitation will be held Monday, November 10th from 4 to 8PM with singing and service starting at 7. Funeral services will be at 11AM on November 11th. All services will be held at Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church. Memorial donations can be made to the Wells Fargo “Greg Benefit” account under Gary Hillukka.

Cowan, James P.
age 56, of Waverly, passed away unexpectedly on October 18, 2014. He was born November 18, 1957 in Buffalo, New York to Bernard and Mary Cowan. He served his country in the United States Army for several years. He is survived by his wife, Sharon. A celebration of Jim’s life took place at 2:00 pm. on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at the Howard Lake Legion.