Kainz was a former owner of Kainz Lumber Co, a logging and mill operation based in Ely, which he led with his brothers, Leo and Raymond, from 1961 to 1978. The Kainz mill supplied finished lumber throughout the Midwest. He learned the lumbering business from his father, Andrew, who brought his portable sawmill to Isabella, MN, in 1945. The Kainz family logged and milled lumber in the Isabella area and were based in the village of Sawbill Landing until launching the Ely mill.
After nearly 40 years of working as a logger and mill owner, Norman and his wife operated Babe's Bait & Tackle for more than a dozen years.
In addition to a long-running muckraking column in the Ely Echo ("The Timberlog"), Norm wrote three books, Fishing in the Ely Area, Klitz's Hole in Platte Town (a memoir about growing up on an 80-acre farm near Harding, Minn., during the Depression), and Bulls of the Woods (lulu.com), a memoir about logging in northeast Minnesota from the early 1940s to the present.
Kainz served in the U.S. Army as a sergeant and medic during the Korean War. He made a spirited, although unsuccessful, bid for state House representative in 1980. He was an avid fisherman and hunter, and took his last deer during the 2012 season.
Survivors include son, Andrew, and daughter-in-law Louise; daughter, Kathlyn Stone; son, Kristofer; granddaughter, Welsa; brother, John Kainz; sister, Doreen Bistis; in-laws, Don and Deannie Krings and Marion Kainz; and many close nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife and best friend of 61 years, Ione "Babe" Kainz; son, Keith; parents, Andrew and Bertha Kainz; and 13 brothers and sisters.
Kainz was a former owner of Kainz Lumber Co, a logging and mill operation based in Ely, which he led with his brothers, Leo and Raymond, from 1961 to 1978. The Kainz mill supplied finished lumber throughout the Midwest. He learned the lumbering business from his father, Andrew, who brought his portable sawmill to Isabella, MN, in 1945. The Kainz family logged and milled lumber in the Isabella area and were based in the village of Sawbill Landing until launching the Ely mill.
After nearly 40 years of working as a logger and mill owner, Norman and his wife operated Babe's Bait & Tackle for more than a dozen years.
In addition to a long-running muckraking column in the Ely Echo ("The Timberlog"), Norm wrote three books, Fishing in the Ely Area, Klitz's Hole in Platte Town (a memoir about growing up on an 80-acre farm near Harding, Minn., during the Depression), and Bulls of the Woods (lulu.com), a memoir about logging in northeast Minnesota from the early 1940s to the present.
Kainz served in the U.S. Army as a sergeant and medic during the Korean War. He made a spirited, although unsuccessful, bid for state House representative in 1980. He was an avid fisherman and hunter, and took his last deer during the 2012 season.
Survivors include son, Andrew, and daughter-in-law Louise; daughter, Kathlyn Stone; son, Kristofer; granddaughter, Welsa; brother, John Kainz; sister, Doreen Bistis; in-laws, Don and Deannie Krings and Marion Kainz; and many close nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife and best friend of 61 years, Ione "Babe" Kainz; son, Keith; parents, Andrew and Bertha Kainz; and 13 brothers and sisters.
Inscription
CPL US ARMY
KOREA
LOVING HUSBAND
FATHER & GRANDFATHER
Family Members
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William "Bill" Kainz
1910–1994
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Werner Laurence "Vernon" Kainz
1911–1987
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Annie Marie Kainz Nelson
1912–1995
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Clarence Thomas Kainz
1913–1998
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Hildegard Susan Kainz Jackson
1914–1960
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Bertha Esther Kainz Litke
1918–1976
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Leo Andrew Kainz Sr
1920–1989
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Raymond Kainz
1923–2002
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Ervin Lewis Kainz
1924–1992
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Michael Melvin Kainz
1926–2011
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Delores Iris Kainz Lutts
1930–2012
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