Dec 19, 2020
SOUTH RANGE Eleanore Marie Magdelena Maki (Tormala) passed away December 16, 2020, due to complications brought on by COVID-19. She was born July 22, 1926, to Andrew and Minna Tormala in Hancock, at the now-long-gone Finnish Hospital, which was located above the stairs on the north side of the Portage Lift Bridge.
Eleanore spent most of her life in South Range-during its vibrant years when the community was at its finest, with stores, taverns, restaurants, bakeries, a theater, and the lively spirit that boom times bring with operating mines. She aged through its slow decline that follows when mines close and families move away. As such, Eleanore is a reflection of South Range, having lived in her childhood home until 2014, when she moved to The Bluffs and finally Canal View Nursing Home when she could no longer climb stairs.