April 15, 1947 – May 12, 2026
Robert “Bob” Bjorum passed away at home in Biwabik unexpectedly on Monday, May 12, 2026. Bob was born on April 15, 1947, in Two Harbors, Minnesota, to Henry and Helmi (Aho) Bjorum, adding joy to a date often despised by many.
Bob’s early childhood was impacted by contracting polio at age two. The following years were very often filled with time spent at the Sister Kenny Institute in Minneapolis, MN, due to treatments and surgeries to improve his ability to walk. His Mom and Dad continued these treatments at home as needed, causing howls and tears. None of this detracted from his cheerful nature and educational progress. As an example, in the upper grades at the John A. Johnson Elementary School, he could multiply two four-digit numbers in his head correctly.
Bob attended Two Harbors High School, where he was the boys basketball student manager, sang in the choir, was in the National Honor Society, and graduated in 1965. He began his college career at UMD the following fall, majoring in Pre-Engineering, but later switched to a Mathematics Major and Business Minor, graduating in 1969.
He began working for IBM as a computer programmer, then on to Land of Lakes in Minneapolis. He yearned for more of an outdoor area similar to where he grew up and moved to the Iron Range to work in an HMO in Virginia and then on to Eveleth Taconite, all in the computer-related field. At EveTac, he met Cathy Etter, and they married in 1984 but later divorced. This marriage included her four children-Boyd, Laree, Brendon, and Patrick, which amped up his parental skills. The move also allowed him to do more fishing in the Arrowhead Region, Ontario, Lake Superior, including Isle Royale with his cousin, Steve Bjorum, and friends. He also hunted ducks out of Angle Inlet and Morson on Lake of the Woods and at the Vermillion River camp of friends. Deer hunting also took place there and with his brother, Dick, and his friends in Koochiching County. The shack crew thoroughly enjoyed his presence, and not only because he was first up, made the coffee, and stoked the barrel stove into life.
His next employment was a few years at Hibbing Electronics before he began a career as a self-employed computer consultant and trouble shooter, fixing the threat of the Y2K bug. The years began to wear on his childhood polio weaknesses that were diagnosed as post-polio syndrome. This caused him to apply for Social Security Disability, a long two-to-three-year battle, which was finally approved.
Bob was grateful that he had a “special” cousin, Marilyn Ocepek, nearby to not only visit with but also help with his needs as he became quite attached to crutches after a fall. She also always made him meals during special holidays that he could pick up at her home. He began going to Megan’s in Aurora for brunch, and the staff also became special “guardians,” at times calling him to see why he didn’t come that day.
Bob loved his stepchildren, his cousins, and their children, and his nieces, Elissa and Erika. He always enjoyed being around them, regaling them with tales and life lessons. Bob also had a love for his rescue pets-Char, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, Charlie, a Golden Retriever, and then the cat, Chuma.
Traveling was also a love. He made many trips out east and west to visit and assist step-children and photograph trains and all that has to do with railroading. He took a treasured trip to Norway with cousins Steve and Sandra and Tante Ena, to visit relatives of his grandparents, and where they were from, Namsos and Henningsvaer. He and Ena also drove up the Alaskan Highway to visit her son and family in Anchorage. They then took the Alaska Ferry system from Haines to see his nieces, Elissa and Erika, in Juneau. Bob and Ena also had a regular, “Let’s do lunch at the Pickwick and then a ‘road trip’ around the Duluth and Superior harbor,” for many years, keeping abreast of nautical events.
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Virginia became an important part of his social and religious life. He sang in the choir and assisted with church finances for many years until his ability to do so interfered.
Bob will be greatly missed by his surviving family and friends. A visitation at 10:00, followed by a memorial service at 11:00 with a lunch and fellowship to follow, will be held Monday, June 1, 2026, at Range Funeral Home in Virginia, MN. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice.
