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Mrs. Thomas Desonia, 76, last survivor of the Luke Sweet family, Wakefield’s first settlers, died sud denly early Wednesday afternoon at her home at 402 South street. Death was due to a heart attack, aggravated by excitement over a small grass fire which she feared would get out of control. Mrs. Desonia had been raking up some of the leaves in her yard and had started a fire. A brisk wind car ried the embers about the yard and started other small blazes. After calling a neighbor to summon her son, Joe, to her aid, Mrs went into the house to draw several pails of water. When her son ar rived, he found his mother on the kitchen floor. Death, an attending physician said, had been instan taneous. Born at Eden, Wis. August 26, 1876, Catherine Sweet was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Luke and Julia Sweet. Her father was a railroad construction worker with the old Lake Shore Railroad and followed the work as the corpora tion pushed its rails up from Wis consin into Watersmeet and then encouraged by the stories of the great iron deposits on the Gogebic range extended its holdings into Wakefield and to the west. Mr. Sweet was in charge of much of this work. The family moved into Wakefield in May, 1884 when their daughter was seven years old. Catherine Sweet became the bride of Thomas Desonia in 1892. To them were born 12 children. Two, Mrs. Alex (Genevieve) Bal winski died in 1945 at Marquette, and Orlie, age 6, died in 1904. The remaining members are: Joe and Ben, both of Wakefield; Mrs. Wil liam (Marie) Ennis, Ashland; Mrs. Fred (Marcella) Haslett, Gary, Ind.; Marvin, Ironwood; Mrs. Bernard (Gladys) Johnson, Milwaukee; Mrs. Anton (Julia) Welnett, Manitowoc, Wis.; Mrs. Louis (Pearl) Parolari, Bessemer; Mrs. Phil (Geraldine) Bleicher, Gary, and Thomas, Mil waukee. She is also survived by 27 ° ~=grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. During her 68 years in Wakefield, Mrs. Desonia was active in church work. During the pioneer days she was a leader in the social life of the community and during World War I was active in the American Red Cross and other war agencies. Mr. Desonia, who died Nov. 21, 1941, was prominent in the govern mental affairs of the township and village, and through his interest Mrs. Desonia was able to recall much of the early political history. She regaled in telling stories of the boom days of the iron ore and silver exploration around Wakefield, of the poverty and suffering during the depression years, and from her remarkable memory recalled stories of human interest which she often expressed a hope could be set down in a history of the city. Funeral services will be held Saturday morning at St. Mary's church. Friends may visit the Frick Chapel Friday afternoon and even ing.
Newspaper Details
The Wakefield News
Wakefield, Michigan, US
Fri, Apr 25, 1952
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Gloria K.
USA 05 Jan 2026
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