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As received from the Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home:
Jay S. Kotaniemi, 54, passed away at his home in Kearsarge on Wednesday June 30, 2021.
He was born on September 23, 1966 in Laurium to the late Paul and Mary (Klobuchar) Kotaniemi. He attended the local schools and graduated from Calumet High School with the Class of 1984.
Following high school, Jay went on to learn about automobile restoration and body work. His passion was cars and he was a skilled auto body technician working at Joe’s Body Shop, Custom Cars by Chris, and Northern Auto for many years. He was proud that repeat customers always asked for Jay to work on their cars.
Jay also loved being outdoors whether he was out on the farm or just out cruising the backroads. He enjoyed working on his house, remodeling, and expanding, building a shop in his garage. He loved spending time with his 2 daughters, Katy, and Karly. His face was always beaming when he was with his girls or talking about them.
He was a member of the Mind over Matter four-wheeler club.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Mary Kotaniemi and brother, Steven (Sue) Kotaniemi and great friend, Kurt Clairmont
He is survived by:
Daughters: Katy Kotaniemi of Hancock
Karly (Jason) Rajala of Texas
His brothers: Dan Kotaniemi of Kearsarge, Joe (Donna) Kotaniemi of Kearsarge, and his sister Sue (Jim) Rutkowski of Marquette. His nieces and nephews: Kelly (Josh) Treganowan of Mohawk, Josh Kotaniemi of Marquette, Jennifer (Chad) Cleary of Marquette, along with numerous cousins, grand nieces, and grand nephews
A celebration of Jay’s life will be held on Saturday July 10 from 3:00 until 6:00 at the Ahmeek Park. We hope you’ll join us and share some memories and stories.
In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials and donations may be sent to his family at
1029 Summit Street Hancock, Michigan 49930.
Online condolences for the family may be left at www.ericksoncrowleypeterson.comThe Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home is assisting the family with the arrangements
