Eugene "Gene" A. Mielke passed on July 17th into the afterlife, surrounded by his family and accompanied by his lord and savior. He was born to Lawrence and Cecelia (Krenz) Mielke at their family home in St Paul, MN, on 5/11/1934, the fourth of five children.

He is preceded in death by his daughter: Beth Kuhne; daughter-in-law: Sherry Mielke; brothers: Wally and Larry; and sisters: Celine Johnson and Connie Grass.

He is survived by his beloved wife: Ruby "Peggy"; children: Greg, Linda, Laura (Joe) Bruley, and Cathy (Jeff) Romanchuk; sister-in-law: Carolyn Gillis; brothers-in-law: Tim (Deborah) Gillis, Neil (Geri) Gillis, Neil Grass; mother of his children: Louise Mielke; 9 grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren; and many extended family members and friends.

Gene retired from AT&T (Lucent) at age 55 and worked for them as an independent contractor until age 62. He enjoyed retirement, working alongside his wife with "Fireside Crafts" and volunteering at the Mines & Pines Art Festival, and with Groceries to Go and Second Harvest. Gene was always handy and available to lend a helping hand. He especially enjoyed fishing on Pelican Lake and taking care of their homestead in Balkan, MN, until 2004 when they moved to Realife North in Hibbing .

He had a great sense of humor and will be missed by many but especially his family.

A Celebration of Life gathering for family and friends will be held Sunday, August 1, 2021 from 1-3p.m. at the Realife North community room.  Memorials are preferred to Second Harvest Food Bank, 4503 Airpark Blvd., Duluth, MN  55811 https://northernlakesfoodbank.org/donation/.

Family services are provided by Anderson-Daniels, a Bauman Family Funeral Home, in Hibbing.  To express condolences on-line please see:  www.baumanfuneralhome.com.