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O.W. "Bill" Kellogg

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Former Guttenberg resident and Press publisher Bill Kellogg died April 29, 2021, at age 95 in St. Louis, Mo. after a brief illness.

Oliver William “Bill” Kellogg was born March 28, 1926, in Humboldt to Oliver Fletcher and Erma (Gossard) Kellogg. He was raised in Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska, and attended several schools as the family followed work during the Great Depression.

Bill worked many jobs in his 95 years: corn detassler, railroad section hand, pea cannery and creamery worker, taxi dispatcher, independent logger and pulp cutter, deck hand, customs agent, newspaper publisher and editor. 

But throughout his life, Bill was most proud of his military service. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17 and served as a radio operator aboard four battleships and aircraft carriers in the Third Fleet led by Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey. 

He fought in the Battle of Okinawa, the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater. He was one of six from his ship to volunteer for the only World War II deployment of naval infantry, landing in Tokyo Bay before Japan’s surrender to set up radio communications with the full force of U.S. Marines and British commandos. 

After the war, Bill attended Iowa State University and graduated from University of Minnesota in Forestry Management under the GI bill. He dreamed of being a forester, but his career path changed after his father died and he took on responsibility for the family newspaper business, the Baudette Region in Baudette, Minn. In 1956, Bill and his wife Shirley met on a blind date and married only weeks later in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They settled into their home on the Rainy River and had their daughters there.

His military service continued when he enlisted in a “first to go” unit of the Army National Guard in 1965. 

In 1971, Bill and his brother, Ed Kellogg, purchased The Guttenberg Press from Charles and Abbie Millham. Bill’s family enjoyed 21 years and many enduring friendships with people from the area. Most mornings, Bill solved world problems with other coffee drinkers at Rausch’s Cafe. 

Bill was active in Rotary International and instrumental in the Guttenberg club’s involvement with the student exchange program. Bill and Shirley hosted four students who attended then Guttenberg High School, Markku Rikkinen from Finland, Carmen Aida Garcia Fox from Mexico, Stefan Jonsson from Sweden, and Maarten Lemmens from Belgium. These relationships continued through his entire life. 

Bill and Shirley, who taught Home Economics and Science at Guttenberg High School, retired in Guttenberg and returned to their Minnesota home in 1992. 

Bill was a member of the American Legion and was honored by the group for 75 years of continuous membership at a Memorial Day ceremony in 2018. He was also a member of the Lions Club, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) including many search and rescue missions, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Navy League, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Iowa Newspaper Association and was a Scoutmaster. He attended Sunday church services his whole life, as an adult at First Congregational UCC in Baudette and Guttenberg United Methodist Church. In his last years, he participated in and sometimes led a weekly worship group at his senior living center. 

Bill joined his father and brother Marv as small-plane pilots flying both sides of the Canadian border; in later years, he often dreamed about flying. He was an avid outdoorsman, fisherman, pheasant and deer hunter. In his 40s, Bill became an ardent runner long before it was popular and estimated that he ran 25-30,000 miles. He was proud to list Native American ancestry in his lineage, and to have a military ancestor guarding Abraham Lincoln during the Gettysburg address. 

Bill was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Martha E. Frolander and her husband, Peter Frolander, of Warroad; his brother, Marvin D. Kellogg of Longville; his wife, Shirley Kellogg, who died in 2002; and a stillborn daughter. 

He is survived by brother, Edward P. Kellogg and wife, Karen; sister-in-law, Lorraine Kellogg; daughter Alanna Kellogg and husband Jerry Wallach of St. Louis, Mo.; daughter Adanna Day and husband Ted Day of Bryson, Texas; grandsons Matthew Kellogg-Frye and Alex Kellogg-Frye; great-grandchildren, Markkis, Mario, Christian, and his namesake Oliver. Other survivors include beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Service arrangements are pending for August in Baudette. 

Bill believed his duty in life was to protect and defend his country, his family, and his community. 

“Sailor, your watch is over. Soldier, it’s time to sleep.”

– 30 –

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