Park G. Ogden

Grand Marais Park G. Ogden, age 84, of Alger Avenue,Grand Marais, died in the emergency room of Helen Newberry Joy Hospital on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 11:27 a.m. He was born in Toledo, Ohio on April 5, 1922 to Park and Mary (Donahey) Ogden. Park graduated from high school in Ohio and then attended Ohio State University where he was a member of the R.O.T.C. program. On April 26, 1943, he married Janet Marie Mulligan. Park served in the E.A.M.E. Theater during WWII in the U.S. Army. He was a signalman and he "dragged" wires and radios all over Europe, including the invasion at Normandy. Following the War, he returned to OSU where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Geology. Park and his family moved to Louisiana, but summertime was always spent in Grand Marais. He worked as a geologist for Buffalo Oil and Continental Oil in Lafayette and New Orleans where he studied the earth and mapped out oil and natural gas sources. After retirement, he formed his own oil company, QEDCO. He was known in the oil industry for his honesty. Park was also very active with the Episcopal Church in Lafayette. He enjoyed operating his HAM radio, gardening all year 'round, electronics, but above all, Park loved his wife and daughters. In August of 2001, he and Janet returned to Grand Marais as year-round residents.
Park is survived by his wife of over sixty-three years - Janet Ogden of Grand Marais; daughters - Karen Kirby of Champion, MI, Jan Carol "J.C." Cgden of Grand Marais, and Mary (Rick) Capogrossa of Grand Marais; grandchildren - Lemuel, Daniel, Danica, Micah, & Miriam Smyth, Jamie, Joshua, Jeremy, & Stephanie Kirby, Candace Prill, and Dylan, Ashleigh, & Hunter Capogrossa; great-grandchildren - Paitten, Emily, Hannah, Obadiah, Samuel, Abigail, and Zachary; brother - Edward (Honey) Ogden of Grand Marais; sister - Mary Dempsey of Grand Marais; and numerous nieces and nephews. Park was preceded in death by his parents, daughter Candace Jo (Ogden) Smyth, grandchildren Trevor Capogrossa and Christiana Smyth, son-in-law Barry Kirby, and brother Donald Ogden.
Services will be held at the First Lutheran Church in Grand Marais on Saturday, September 2, 2006. Visitation will be from 12:00 noon until 1:00 p.m. and Pastor Bob Gardner will conduct the funeral service at 1:00 p.m., and interment will be at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Grand Marais. William and Mary Donahey were Park's aunt and uncle and preservation of the Pickle Barrel was important to him. The family feels that Park would appreciate in lieu of flowers that family and friends make any donations to the "Save the Pickle Barrel Fund", P.O. Box 178, Grand Marais, MI 49839.