Joseph W. Cerutti

            Joseph William Cerutti, 76, of Lawrence Lake went home to God peacefully and surrounded by loved ones on April 21, 2020 at his home in Bovey.

Joe was born September 17, 1943 to Tony and Rose Cerutti in Grand Rapids, MN but grew up in Lawrence Lake where he learned how to farm, garden, fish, hunt, and get into general mischief from the time he could walk.

He attended Greenway and married Sharon (Fritcher) in 1962 and together they had two daughters, Jody and Cami. Joe’s life really began when he became a father. Nothing in the world made him prouder than his two girls; they were his world.

He proudly joined the Marine Corps in 1973 and served in Japan. He was very proud of his time in the service and considered it an honor to serve his country.

He retired from the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2008, after 21 years of keeping our roads safe and clear. But Joe was happiest in the woods and on the water where you could find him logging, cutting boughs, picking pinecones, planting trees, hunting and fishing. Throughout the years, Joe gave his family the gift of learning a love for the outdoors and handed down a legacy of outdoorsmen and women.

He was man who would work his hands to the bone without a complaint and who would also give you the shirt off his back. Joe was truly selfless and lived a full life putting others before himself. He loved nothing more than entertaining his friends and family with stories of the years gone by. And everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him has their own “(Grandpa) Joe” story. He had a knack for being able to find the humor in anything and everything, even in the hard times in life, he could put a smile on your face with a well-executed joke. In true form, he was joking and laughing with us until the end. 

He is survived by and will be deeply missed by his brother Matt Cerutti, sisters Phyllis Burbie and Virginia Wittstruck, his loving daughters Jody Troumbly and Cami (Ace) Lawson, his beloved grandchildren Daniel, Joseph, Natasha, Ethan, and Anna Troumbly, Tanner and Blake O’Gorman and Jayden St. Clair, and his great-grandchildren Grace, Jaxon, Lily, Kaydance, Isabelle, Liam, Brantley, and Nikolai. He is also survived by his bonus children Carlene (Craig) Bell, Darrel (Kathy) Branstner, and all of his bonus grandchildren and great-grandchildren whom he loved very much as his own.

He is preceded in death by his parents, sister-n-law Helga Cerutti, brother-in-law Pat Burbie, and by his loving partner of many years, Carma Branstner. 

It will be impossible to forget a man who gave us so much to remember. As Joe would say, “It’s been a good ride.”

A private ceremony will be held for immediate family at Lakeview Cemetery in Coleraine.

            Arrangements by the Peterson Funeral Chapel of Coleraine.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.