Angela Anne Camarda McCluhan

Angela Anne Camarda McCluhan, age 93, passed away Saturday, January 16, 2016 at the Golden Living Center in Walker, MN. Angela was born February 22, 1922 in East Liverpool, Ohio. She peacefully passed on to her heavenly Father on January 16, 2016 at the age of 93 years in Walker, MN. Her parents were Michael Camarda and Angelina LaBrasca. Angela attended grade school at St. Aloysius Parochial School in East Liverpool, OH; high school at the Villa Maria High School in Villa Maria, PA; and she received her R.N. degree from St. Elizabeth’s School of Nursing in Youngstown, OH. Angela also received her B.S. degree from Bemidji State University in 1977. After receiving her R.N. degree she joined the Cadet Nursing Corps in 1944 and worked in government and Indian Reservation hospitals during WWII. While working at the Public Health Hospital in Winnebago NE, she met her future husband, Neil, who was an Army Air Corp pilot serving in WWII. Angela was united in marriage to Neil R. McCluhan in 1945 in East Liverpool, OH. The young couple lived in Lincoln NE, then Omaha NE where Angela worked as a registered nurse in hospitals and mental health centers to put her husband through college and Law School. Once Neil completed his law degree at Creighton University in Omaha, the couple moved to Sioux City IA in 1954. Angela continued to work as an R.N. at St. Vincent’s Hospital and taught clinical nursing at St. Vincent’s School of Nursing in Sioux City IA. In 1972 she moved to the family’s lake home in Park Rapids and later built her own home on Iwen Lake.Angela and Neil were blessed with 7 children. Angela spent her life devoted to her family and raising her children in an active and busy household. She loved spending summers with her children on Little Sand Lake, always cooking and feeding a houseful of guests. Angela was an excellent cook, specializing in Italian food. She learned how to cook as a young girl, working with her parents who owned an Italian restaurant in Ohio. She also enjoyed ballroom dancing with her husband. She loved refinishing antique furniture and her home had many family pieces she had refinished. She was a spirited and fun-loving lady. Angela’s life was deeply saddened and changed forever with the loss of her son Rick in 2008 and daughter Mary in 2014. She was a member of Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in Nevis, MN. Angela is survived by daughter Leah (Tim) Pigatti – Park Rapids,MN; daughter Barbara (Ronald) Baker – Andover, MN; son John - St. Paul, MN; daughter Kelly Buchholz (Richard Boelz) – Holdingford, MN; daughter Joan Zuhlsdorf – Winnebago, MN; daughters-in-law Joni McCluhan – Mankato, MN and Shirley McCluhan – Fargo ND. Grandchildren - Kelly Lenius Radotich –Andover, MN; Matt Lenius – Anoka, MN; Tina Pigatti Welsh – Manassas VA; Mike LaBrasca – Detroit Lakes, MN; Lawrence LaBrasca – Anoka MN; Neil McCluhan – Portland OR; Anthony McCluhan – Mankato MN; Joseph McCluhan – Mankato MN; and Alexander Zuhlsdorf – Winnebago MN; and 4 great grandchildren; Lexi Radotich, Tate Lenius, Mark Buchholz, and Teddy Welsh. She is also survived by sister, Pauline (Leo) Denne of Connecticut and Florida. Angela was preceded in death by her parents; husband Neil; beloved children: son, Richard and daughter, Mary Rose; two grandsons: Erich Buchholz and Mark Buchholz; son-in-law Dewey Zuhlsdorf; and sister, Grace Hensel. Funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in Nevis, MN at 11:30am Thursday, January 21, 2016. Visitation will be on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 from 5:00 – 7:00 at the Jones Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids.