Bernard "Bernie" Francis Kocian

Leona Litchke2025-02-17T13:49:59-06:00

Name: Bernard "Bernie" Francis Kocian
Location of Birth: Marble, Minnesota
Date of Birth: June 5, 1923
Date of Death: February 10, 1993 (69 years old)
Parents: Frank Kocian & Agnes (Haumschild) Kocian
High School and Class: 1941 Greenway High School, Coleraine, Minnesota
College:
Highest Rank: TEC 4 (Technical 4)
Branch: Army
Other Branch:
Date Sworn In: March 25, 1943
Place Sworn In:
Date of Discharge: April 18, 1946
Place of Discharge:
Military Awards:

Military Highlights:
WW II Draft Registration Cards – 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947
State: Minnesota
Name: Bernard F. Kocian
Race: White
Age: 19
Birth Date: June 5, 1923
Birth Place: Marble, Minnesota, USA
Residence Place: Marble, Itasca, Minnesota, USA
Registration Date: June 30, 1942
Employer: F. A. Kocian, Marble, Itasca, Minnesota
Weight: 140
Height: 5-8
Complexion: Light
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown
Next of Kin: Mrs. F. A. Kocian, Marble, MN

Wars Involved:
World War II

MIA / POW:

Civilian Life:
After Bernie Kocian graduated from high school, he attended the National School of Meat Cutting in Toledo Ohio. He married Joyce Archibald in 1943 in Minnesota. After his discharge from military service, he worked in the grocery store business in New Richmond, Wisconsin. In 1947 he moved to Bigfork and purchased the Red Owl Store which later became Kocian’s Grocery in Bigfork. He was a retired member of the Bigfork Volunteer Ambulance Service; past president and charter member of Bigfork Geese Unlimited Chapter; past member of the Bigfork Community Hospital Board and Knights of Columbus; a member of the Effie American Legion, Bigfork Community Golf Association, Minnesota Grocers Association, National Federation of Independent Businesses, Minnesota Meat Processors Association, National Association of Meat Processors; a charter member and organizer of the Bigfork Firemen’s Relief Association; and life member of National Rifle Association.

Bernie died in Maui, Hawaii and is buried in Bigfork Cemetery, Bigfork, Minnesota. He is survived by his wife, Joyce; two daughters, Marilyn Bueckers and Kathryn Burzlaff; two sons, Michael and Patrick; two sisters, Agnes Kocian and Ruth Johnson; and twenty grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Robert and Gerald.

News article in Grand Rapids Herald Review, date of publication is missing:
Bernie Kocian's death stuns Northland
The citizens of Bigfork still find it hard to believe that the man who continually challenged them to be the best died last Wednesday while vacationing in Hawaii.
Those who worked side by side with him as firefighters, who helped him build a golf course, a fire hall, ambulance service and a clinic, chuckled about loving and cussing Bernie Kocian. Yet they all saw the same attribute in the 69-year old civic leader--he demanded they give their best for Bigfork.
"Bernie was a student of the community in which he lived as well as the school district and the county," said hunting partner and former state legislator Dick Anderson. "He kept people honest. I always knew he was there, keeping me accountable. Bernie had a great deal of intelligence.
"If you asked Representative Irv Anderson who always sent him the most incisive letters about issues affecting rural Minnesota, he would say, 'Bernie Kocian.'"
Bernie, who grew up in a family of grocers in Marble, thought Bigfork offered him the best business opportunity when he left the service after serving in World War II. Kocian and his father bought the Max Unger Red Owl Store in 1947. It was located where the addition to Jacobson's Hardware now stands.
Bernie built a new store in 1950 a block south of his first location. He and son Mike put up another new, modern Kocian's Supermarket in 1992.
Anderson said Kocian was extremely proud of the service he gave his customers and worked hard to maintain its quality.
Yet Bernie was a businessman who wasn't afraid to speak his mind. "He would speak out when others wouldn't because they were afraid it would affect their business," said John Nathe, owner of Nathe Drug.
Because he was so quick to speak out when he felt something wasn't right, Bernie became the voice of Bigfork. "He was always the first to call, the first to level a blast at the county board if he thought they were in the wrong.
"He was the de facto leader of the town because he would always step up to the plate to take a swing," Nathe added. "He was a true leader and always got things done."
Bernie was the first to meet and greet Nathe when he came to Bigfork in 1974. "He became a father image to me," Nathe said. "I thought he was indestructible and would never go away."
The grocer was proud of Bigfork and its people. He was a very generous man, and many talked about how he helped a lot of people and never revealed his benevolence.
Family and church were also important to Bernie. The Kocians would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this summer. Bernie married another Marble native, Joyce Archibald, in 1943. Children Mike, Pat, Marilyn and Kathy had planned to honor them with a special party. Now they will honor their father's memory.
He built a hunting camp on the Bigfork River where he took sons Pat and Mike and his son-in-law to share his love for duck hunting.
"Bernie was very patriotic, too," Anderson said. "I remember how proud and how very scared he was when his son, Mike, was serving in Vietnam," Anderson said.
"Bernie was a strong, robust outdoorsman who loved to hunt and to fish. But, most of all, he loved to hunt ducks. This fall he shot one which came down on his head and broke his glasses. I told him one of the duck finally got him"
Others realized how much Bernie loved the wild creatures of the north when he formed a Geese Unlimited Chapter in Bigfork.
That chapter still reflects Bernie's dedication, as does Bigfork's first class fire department and ambulance service. Kocian, with other investors, formed Cleat Construction Company in 1953 and helped Bigfork build its fire hall and clinic which is attached to the hospital.
"The ambulance service started up with an old hearse donated by Peterson's Funeral Home in Coleraine," recalled Dennis Holsman. "Later we were able to buy an ambulance. The fire department sold fire contracts for fire protection to raise money for fire engines."
Bernie, who served as fire chief for many years, is credited with starting a retirement association for Bigfork's firefighters which gives them a small pension when they retire.
"Bigfork prospered because he was here," Holsman concluded.
Those who worked for Kocian have prospered, too. Mayor Jeff Holsman said some of his friends who worked in Bernie's store talked about what a tough boss he was. But they learned how to work.
Bernie shaped the politics, the economy and the community events of Bigfork, according to Northern Itasca Health Care Center Administrator Lil Krueger. Kocian served on the hospital's board during the center's formative years.
He was often critical of his colleagues because of his conservative nature, added Anderson. "But he always worked to make things better."
The loss of a leader of Kocian's stature will be hard on Bigfork, Nathe said. "We have lost two great leaders in a short period of time. It is hard for a small community to replace them.

Tribal Affiliation(s):