Obituary

MUNISING - Lee Alexander “Mopey” Colbus, age 72, of 514 W. Munising Avenue, died on Friday, March 03, 2006 at 5:12 a.m. at the Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette following a lengthy illness. He was born on December 28, 1933 in Munising to Leo and Evelyn (Morin) Colbus. Lee graduated from Sacred Heart Catholic School and it was there that the nuns forever nicknamed him Mopey.

He worked at the Munising Woodenware and on April 16, 1952, Mopey joined the U.S. Navy. He served on the U.S.S. Missouri BB63 and the U.S.S. Iowa BB61 during the Korean War. Mopey earned the National Defense Service Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal, China Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, and the Korean Service Medal. He was discharged on April 21, 1955.

On September 22, 1956, Mopey married Florence “Flo” Anderson. They had two children Dean and Carla. Flo and Mopey were married eighteen years when she preceded him in death on October 31, 1974.

His employment at Kimberly Clark began on October 10, 1955 as a broke handler in the Beater Room. Over the next ten years, he worked in different departments including the Log Yard, Finishing Room, and Pilot Plant. On October 11, 1965, he posted into the Specialists Department as a Utility Helper, progressing to Microsander Operator. On January 1, 1983, Mopey posted into the Powerhouse as an Assistant Fireman, progressing to Turbine Operator, which is the job he held at the time of his retirement on January 1, 1993 with over thirty-seven years of continuous service.

On June 14, 1979, Mopey married Judi (Wolf) Hebeisen and he became step-father to her daughters, Terri & Krista. Mopey was a past member of the American Legion and he bowled and pitched softball for several different local teams. He also raced Ski-Doo for the Munising TNT Race Team for eight years. Mopey loved to fish, hunt, boat and snowmobile. He enjoyed his daily 11:00 a.m. coffee stop at the Dogpatch followed by him spending his day riding around in his truck with his Camels.