Obituary of Leone Jeane Solem

Leone Jeane Solem (Cooke, Buchanan), 85, of Duluth passed away Friday July 9th, 2021 in Duluth. Leone was born on May 19th, 1936 to Leo & Irene Buchanan in Madison, WI. Her one sibling, Peg, was born in  1937.

When Leone was a child the family relocated to Duluth where she attended Duluth East. She played clarinet in the high school band and was also a 4H leader. Leone graduated from Duluth East in 1954. It was  here she met Don Cooke; they were married in May of 1955. Don and Leone would go on to raise seven  children together until his untimely death in 1971.

Leone was a single mom for nine years to daughters Debbie and Penny and sons Jerry, Scott, Mickey, Jody  and Jeff. Leone worked at Champion Children’s Home. After her children graduated she attended Lake  Superior College and was then employed by St. Luke’s Hospital.

In 1980, Leone married Don Solem. They were married 32 years until Don’s passing in 2012. Don and  Leone loved to travel. Don made it to all 50 states and Leone to 49 (missing only Hawaii). They especially  loved to go to Cliff Lake in Canada to fish in both the summer and winter months. Leone worked as bookkeeper and accountant for DG Solem & Sons, which husband Don (aka The Tin Man) owned.

From early on, Leone developed a love for sewing. At age 14 she won a Young Designers contest by  entering a flannel shirt she had sewn. It was a passion she would continue throughout her lifetime and she would go on to learn to crochet, knit and quilt. Family and friends will treasure the love  she put into every stitch when they were gifted with amazing quilts upon marriage and beautiful afghan’s and baby blankets upon births. It was rare to see Leone without a project in her hands – even  knitting while sitting in the icehouse waiting for her tip-up to indicate a fish was on her line. Chances are,  if you knew Leone, you were a recipient of one of her handmade items. She was also generous and donated numerous of these items to charities, in particular to local fire departments. Leone was a wonderful  mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who will be greatly missed.

She was preceded in death by her parents, first husband Donald Cooke, second husband Donald Solem,  sister Peg Sternal, and daughter-in-law Cheryl Cooke. Leone is survived by her daughter Debbie (Tony)  Vittorio, sons Jerry (Joyce) Cooke, Scott (Brenda) Cooke, daughter Penny (Brian) Linn, and sons Mickey  (Terri) Cooke, Jody (Gail) Cooke, and Jeff (Sandy) Cooke, all of Duluth and the surrounding area. She is  also survived by step-sons Boysie (Kim) Solem of Pearland, TX, Bebs (Sandy) Solem, of Duluth, and niece  Kim Sternal from Punta Gorda, FL. Leone is also survived by 26 grandchildren, 64 great-grandchildren and  7 great-great-grandchildren.

The family would like to thank St. Luke’s Hospice nurses and also extend a very special thank you to  granddaughter Sarah for taking such wonderful care of Grandma. A celebration of life will be held on  Friday, July 16, 2021 at the Gnesen Community Center 6356 Howard Gnesen Road, Duluth. Family and  friends are warmly invited to commemorate Leone by sharing memories and refreshments, from 2:00 p.m.  to 5:00 p.m. Euology and a slideshow of Leone’s life will take place at 3 p.m. Interment will be held at a  later date at the Normanna Cemetery.