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Rik (Robert) Moilanen, age 84 of L’Anse, Michigan passed away on Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 at St Mary’s Medical Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Rik was born January 25,1941 in Faith Hospital, L’Anse MI to former L’Anse Village President Ed and Elsie (Karkanen) Moilanen.
He graduated from L’Anse Twp High School 1959, where he received the F. Clyde Campbell Award for outstanding senior, and graduated from The University of Michigan, 1965, with a major in advertising design and photography, minoring in Marketing.
An award-winning advertising creative director, he worked in 3 different agencies in Chicago for 18 years, and started his own advertising/marketing/design consulting firm, which he ran for another 16 years. He then retired from an ad agency in Lombard, IL, where he served as creative director and director of production for 4 years.
During his career, he also was Adjunct Professor of Art at St. Xavier University in Chicago for 17 years, and Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, IL for 3 years. After “retirement”, he moved back to his hometown of L’Anse, and started his home repair business, RixFixIt & Handyman Service, which he continued until his passing.
Rik served his community by chairing the L’Anse Downtown Development Authority, managing the Summer Concerts series on the lakefront. Music played a major part of his life, playing in Bells on the Bay handbell choir, and singing in the Bay Area Chorus and many other religious and secular choirs. His musical tastes ran from opera to bluegrass. He was a founding member of the Lake Trout Festival and volunteered with Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly. He also served his church by singing in the choir and serving as past-president of the congregation at United Lutheran Church.
A friend of Bill W. since 1982, he was preceded in death by his brother Tom, and is survived by his son, Dan (Teri) Nestel of Salt Lake City, his two grand-children, Erik (Meghan) Nestel of Sandy UT, and Tiara (Sean Rapanshek) Nestel of Hawaii. Joy came to him with the births of his great-grandchildren, Moira Rose, Liam Erik and Finnegan Nestel. He is also survived by his sister, Maija Rothenberg of Chicago; two nephews, Todd (Jen) Moilanen of Beverly Hills, Michigan, and Karl (Patty O’Leary) Moilanen of Plymouth, Michigan, and by two nieces, Rowan Balagot of Chicago and Alana (Becca Louisell) Balagot of Los Angeles.
A celebration of Life will be held at a later date. His ashes to be interred in Evergreen Cemetery in L’Anse at a later date. Jacobson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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