Helen "Luella" (Sherman) Schlichting

Helen Luella (Sherman) Schlichting, known as “Luella”, passed away at the age of 90 on May 14, 2014, in Lincoln City, OR. Luella was born on June 1, 1923 in Superior, WI; her father was Ambrose Bradford Sherman and her mother was Agnes Helen (Sieger) Sherman.

Luella was the third of four sisters who grew up in Superior, WI. As a youngster, Luella enjoyed going to Girl Scout camp in the summer and to the ice rink in the winter. She was a talented ice skater who said she enjoyed performing in the local ice follies in her youth. Luella was an active girl who much preferred to climb trees and play marbles than to stay indoors and do needlework. Luella’s happy memories included playing board games with her father and sisters.

Luella attended Cathedral High School in Superior and graduated on June 4th, 1941. Her character was shaped by her church, her school, the Great Depression and the great outdoors. But Luella’s greatest strength and defining trait was found in her deep and abiding religious faith—a gift which supported and nourished her throughout her life. She attended Bible classes wherever she lived and greatly enjoyed the community she shared with others in those classes. The magnitude of her faith, her religious sincerity and unflagging spiritual belief sustained her through time and place-- regardless of circumstance.

On September 26, 1942, Luella married Eugene Martinson, also of Superior, WI. They honeymooned in Milwaukee, WI and then drove their old car to Chicago—a real adventure for two who had never traveled far from home. When Eugene was shipped out by the U.S. Navy during WWII to the Pacific front, Luella moved to Los Angeles to stay with her older sister. Luella worked in a dress shop and saved her money for a down payment on a house while she waited for her husband to return from Japan. After the war they bought a house in Brookfield, WI. They had two children: Ronald and Judy. Around 1955 they moved to the Lakeside neighborhood of Duluth, MN where they lived for several years.

Later, on September 11, 1971, Luella was married again—to Auris Albert Conklin, a farmer from Floodwood and a retired steel worker. But the marriage was short-lived and ill-fated when Auris died suddenly a few months later. Luella’s life with Auris was not to be.

Luella worked as a nurse’s aide at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth where she met Clarence P. Schlichting. They got along well and were married on St. Patrick’s Day, 1973. Together they enjoyed gardening in the back yard as well as taking trips to Chicago, Los Angeles and Hawaii to visit family. They also enjoyed visits to the cabin, cooking together and sailing on Lake Superior with Clarence’s daughter and husband. They remained married for twenty-two years until Clarence’s death in 1995.

In 1996, a new segment of Luella’s life began when she moved to Lincoln City, OR to be near her daughter, Judy. She resided at the Dorchester House, a grand old 1930’s beach hotel which had been converted into an assisted living retirement home. Luella made friends at the Dorchester and enjoyed taking bus trips to visit nearby sights. In 2008 she moved in with her daughter and son-in-law where she lived for six years until the time of her death.

Luella is survived by her son, Ronald B. Martinson; her daughter, Judy Martinson Mullen, Lincoln City, OR; her stepson, Ronald Schlichting, Duluth, MN; her stepdaughter, Valerie Schlichting Ouellette, Duluth, MN; a sister, Elaine Lubek, Scranton, PA; her first husband, Eugene Martinson; five grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.

Visitation will begin at 10:30 AM on Saturday, June 14, 2014 at Cathedral of Christ the King Catholic Church, 1111 Belknap Street, Superior and will continue until the 11:30 AM Memorial Mass with Rev. Fr. Andrew Ricci as celebrant.

Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Superior.

Should friends desire, memorials may be made in Luella’s name to the American Heart Association.

The Downs-LeSage Funeral Home, 1304 Hammond Avenue, Superior is assisting the family with arrangements.