Deltah Niemi

Deltah Johanna Niemi, age 90, passed away on January 2, 2019 at Prairie Gardens Assisted Living facility, Sun Prairie WI. She was born in Virginia MN on September 6, 1928, the daughter of Frank Emil Biltonen and Hulda Johanna Biltonen (Maki). Hulda died when Deltah was 3 years of age and Frank married Frances Castren who raised Deltah and her younger brothers Sonny and Rodney. Frank managed cooperatives so the family moved frequently, from Virginia, Kettle River, West Duluth, Sudbury Canada, and to Ironwood MI all before high school. She did spend her high school days at Moose Lake High School, graduating in 1945.

Deltah attended Duluth Business School for 10 months in 1946 and worked in Superior WI at Central Cooperative Wholesale from 1946 to 1952. She met John, one of six Niemi boys from East Lake MN, in the early 1950s. Deltah said that John wanted to see the girl with the funny name and they obviously hit it off. They were married in August 1952 in Cloquet, MN. They stayed on the Niemi family farm in East Lake for three and a half years, then moved to Ely and then Babbitt for 3 years where John worked at the Reserve taconite mine. Following too many strikes at the mine they packed up the family of four and moved to north Minneapolis in 1959 where John found work at General Mills from where he retired and Deltah started working full time as a bookkeeper/accountant in Minneapolis first at Gift House Stamps, then Pako Photo, then Brown Photo, and ending up with Black Photo until retiring in 1990. The family moved to Crystal MN in 1963. Deltah and John moved to the family cabin on Little Hanging Horn Lake near Barnum MN living there from 1990 to 2005 and spending happy and warm winters at Llano Grande Lake Park Resort in Mercedes, Texas. When John's cancer got worse he insisted they move to St. Paul which they did in 2005 finding a senior apartment building that they loved. Following John's death in 2006, Deltah lived happily on her own until 2015. Her final almost four years were spent in Prairie Gardens Assisted Living facility in Sun Prairie WI. The family thanks the dedicated and loving staff who filled Deltah's last years with enjoyable daily activities.

Deltah is survived by her youngest son Kevin (Karen Grikstas) of Cambridge WI, grandson Nate Niemi of St. Paul, daughter-in-law Andrea Niemi of St. Paul, younger brother Rodney Biltonen (Jane) of Charlottesville VA, and numerous nieces and nephews from both the Biltonen and Niemi sides. She was preceded in death by her parents and step-mother, John her husband of 54 years, brother Frank (Sonny) Biltonen (Gladys), and son Kenneth Frank Niemi.

A family gathering will be held later at the family cabin in Barnum.

The family would like to express its sincerest thanks to the Prairie Gardens Assisted Living staff and the Agrace Hospice staff for their care of Deltah during her last years and days. Memorials may be sent to Kevin Niemi to support the John Kenneth Niemi family memorial scholarship fund with the LeadMN organization of the Minnesota State College Student Association.

Cress Funeral & Cremation
1310 Emerald Terrace
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
608-837-9054