Port Passings

L. Keith Yetter, 70, Duluth, died Sept. 30. Mr. Yetter was employed as a marine construction engineer and vice president of Zenith Dredge Co. and its successor, Marine Tech, Inc., for more than 40 years, retiring in 1999. His contributions to the development of the region's maritime industry included input on the design and construction of Duluth's Arthur M. Clure Public Marine Terminal and Erie Pier, Superior's Burlington Northern Santa Fe taconite facility and Barker's Island Marina and a Two Harbors, Minn., shuttle conveyor dock, as well as numerous local grain elevator docks. He designed harbors in Bayfield, Wis., Silver Bay, Minn., Tofte, Minn., and Saxon Harbor, Mich. Mr. Yetter served on the boards of the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, Duluth Airport Authority and Duluth-Superior Propeller Club. He was co-chairman of the Metropolitan Interstate Committee and member of the Harbor Technical Advisory Committee and was a member of numerous other organizations.

James S. Veltum, 54, Vancouver, Wash., died Sept. 20. Mr. Veltum was superintendent of Superior's Cenex-Harvest States grain elevator for several years until 1999, when he became operations manager for United Harvest in the Port of Vancouver. He was said to "live and breathe golf and grain" and was an active member of the Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS).

Clarence "Clem" B. Lasota, 86, Duluth, died Sept. 20. Mr. Lasota began his Great Lakes career as a coal passer for Pittsburgh Steamship Co. During World War II he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve serving on the Great Lakes. He worked his way through the ranks to become a chief engineer in 1967. He retired from the Great Lakes Fleet in 1979 as chief engineer of the Philip R. Clark. He also served as chief engineer 1970-71 on the William A. Irvin, the retired ore ship now permanently docked in Duluth and serving tourism duty. Mr. Lasota served as a consultant for the attraction and conducted tours of its engine room. He was member and past president of the Duluth-Superior Harbor Club.

Carl James Matel, 83, Duluth, died Oct. 14. Mr. Matel worked as a federal grain inspector in the Port of Duluth-Superior for more than 30 years. His nephew, Robert C. Maki, is the Port Authority's legal counsel.

John Henry Barnard, 82, Duluth, died Aug. 30. Mr. Barnard began working for the Port Authority when the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959. He worked for Ceres, Inc., when it became the Port Authority's managing agent in 1969 and continued working at the Clure Public Marine Terminal under North Central Terminal Operators, Inc., until his retirement in 1985.

George Robert Johnson, 75, Duluth, died Aug. 20. Mr. Johnson worked on several Great Lakes ships, including the William A. Irvin. He also worked at Superior's Fraser Shipyard and held several positions in the American Federation of Grain Millers Local 118. He was employed as a millwright and maintenance electrician at the Peavey and Cargill grain elevators until 1980.

Clarence Norman Marine, 84, Duluth, died Aug. 11. Mr. Marine was a seaman on the Great Lakes for 15 years before becoming employed as a logger.

M. Thomas Moore, 68, Cleveland, Ohio, died Oct. 13. Mr. Moore was the retired chairman and chief executive of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. He served nearly 40 years in the iron and steel industry, including more than 30 at Cleveland-Cliffs where he became president in 1986, chief executive in 1987 and chairman in 1988. He held those positions until 1997, the company's 150th anniversary.