- Dates
- 2023-10-17 – 2023-10-28
- Kind
- Death
- Where
- Beaver Island
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- deathloggingconstructionlaborcommunityfamilymilitaryeconomic-history
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Walter A. Wojan died on October 17, 2023, at age 99. A forum-preserved family obituary says he came to Beaver Island as a child to help with family logging, returned after military service, married Vera McDonough, and later built homes and cottages across the island. It also remembers him as one of a small group of businessmen who worked to sustain Beaver Island’s economy when the year-round population was near 110 around 1959.
The obituary announced an October 28 funeral Mass at Holy Cross Catholic Church and burial at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery.
Evidence limits
The detailed biography and population estimate are family/community obituary claims. They are valuable leads for local economic and demographic history but are not treated as independently verified without corroborating records.
Sources
- The forum obituary reports Walter A. Wojan’s October 17 death at age 99 and describes his childhood logging work on Beaver Island, Army service, marriage to Vera McDonough, construction and contracting, family businesses, seasonal island life, and participation with about nine businessmen in sustaining the island when its population was approximately 110 around 1959. It announces an October 28 Holy Cross funeral and burial. This is family/community obituary material, not an independently held employment or population record.forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 17 · t017975
Added 8 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Walter Wojan dies after a life of logging, construction, and Beaver Island community work, 2023”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-walter-wojan-death-and-island-life-2023/, accessed [date], citing Marie LaFreniere, “Walter Wojan RIP,” Beaver Island Forum, October 18–19, 2023..
Last revised 2026-08-08. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
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