Frederic William Callies

Published April 21, 2019 at 6:39 PM

Frederic William Callies of Carlton, MN died of natural causes on March 14th in Casa Grande, Arizona at the age of 72. Fred was born July 14th in Minneapolis in 1946 to William Henry and Patricia Margaret (Sanders) Callies. He lived in Minneapolis until 1960 when his dad became a Minnesota Game Warden and his family moved to Waskish, MN. Fred graduated from Kelliher High School and attended Bemidji State University until he joined the Navy.

Fred was a Minnesota Highway Patrolman for 31 years. He was stationed in International Falls, Mankato, St. Paul and Cloquet. He was a pilot for the Patrol at his last three stations. While he lived in International Falls, he owned Bohman Airways with partners. After retirement from the patrol, he owned Wilderness Wings. He LOVED to fly. His grandpa taught him to fly float planes when he was a teenager. When he flew for the patrol, he flew fixed wings and helicopters, but he always owned a float plane which he used to fly from his home on Chub Lake to his cabin on Namakan Lake. Fred also served on the Carlton County Airport Commission.

Besides retiring as a Patrolman, Fred retired from the military with over 20 years of service in the Naval Reserve, Navy, Army Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve. He was an accomplished marksman and competed in national shoots for some of his branches of service. Fred was so good at so many things, and he was always willing to share his talents with friends and family. He was a kind and patient caregiver for Amber.

Fred wintered in Galveston, Texas where he and his sister, Ivy, owned condos. He enjoyed spending winter months with his Winter Texan friends. He and his sister also owned a publishing company to distribute their dad's books, They Used To Call Us Game Wardens.

Survivors include his wife, Amber Callies, now at Mankato, MN; children Darci (Charles) Graves, Fort Worth, TX; Robert (Jackie) Callies, League City, TX; Tricia (Steve) Yeathermon, League City, TX; Brenda (Jennie Hauffe) Chute, Mankato, MN; Paul (Erika) Chute, Tucson, AZ. He had twelve grandchildren-Cambria, Rhiannon, Torianna, Nicholas, Kyle, Christian, Kayla, Isabel, Quentin, Hayden, Alex and Anna. Fred is survived by his sister and brother-in-law Ivanette (Ivy) and Herbert Hanson of Hibbing, MN. Fred also has a nephew Darrick (Jennifer) Hanson, Two Harbors, MN and a niece Calisa (Tim) Karst, Inver Grove Heights, MN. His mother-in-law, Helen Duvos, survives him in Little Fork, MN and brother-in-law and sister-in-law Raymond (Lori) Duvos in International Falls, MN and sister-in-law Vicki Gordon and her children Della Rae, John and Robert in Springfield, MO. He is also survived by 19 cousins and many, many friends.

The memorial service will be Sunday, April 28th. That is 428-Fred's badge number for the Minnesota State Patrol. Fred and Amber got married on a Thursday 31 years ago so they could be married on 428. The Cloquet Combined Honor Guard ceremony with the United States Coast Guard and Minnesota Patrol will be at the Cloquet /Carlton County Airport (125 Wheaton Rd) near Cloquet at 12:30. Family will be there for visitation the hour before. The airport is small and parking is a problem. If you plan to attend this part of the service, please park at Black Bear Casino (1785 Hwy 210, Carlton) and carpool. A shuttle to the airport will also be available from the front entrance of the casino starting at 11:15. Also, please dress for the weather. Then family and friends will reconvene at the Event Center of the Black Bear Casino at 1:30 for the memorial service and lunch. People are asked to share memories of Fred. The officiant for services will be Rev. Joseph Liemandt, Fred's cousin.

In lieu of flowers donations given in Fred's memory can be to a charity of your choice or The Salvation Army or Coast Guard Mutual Assistance.