Julie A. Verrette

She was born on March 19, 1941, in Iron Mountain, daughter of Lt. Col. Louis Verrette and Ruth (Bystrom) Verrette. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in 1962 and a master’s degree in counseling from Michigan State University, which led her to a career focused on helping others and crafting solutions.

Julie worked as a university counselor at Northern Michigan University, in the family business at Champion Inc., in a directorship at the Green Bay-De Pere YWCA, and in human resources at Schneider National. Her career was about people, forging connections with them, and building systems that dignify them.

Late in her career, she applied for a job advertised only as “Executive Director sought, Midwest location.” It took her to Dallas, where she met Ross Perot. He shook her hand, showed her his office, and asked her to talk about herself. When she said she was not a politician, he replied, “Good. We don’t need any more of those.” She took the job.

But Julie’s deepest joys were found in the forests and waterways of the Northwoods. She was most alive when surrounded by her children and grandchildren, traveling together to Alaska, Canada, and the Boundary Waters.

Travel was a cornerstone of Julie’s relationship with Betsy, Tim and Mike. It gave them lasting memories and a deep appreciation of place. Julie taught her children that certain places could become part of a family’s inner life: Minaki Lodge, the Apostle Islands, and the dunes of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. For Julie, place was a living almanac of the soul, a complement to her own wild spirit.

After leaving the corporate world, Julie found a calling that would shape the next 25 years of her life. It began with one retired Iditarod dog, Scuba, acquired from champion Susan Butcher, who arrived carrying a litter of pups born the day after she came home.

Over time, Julie built Summer Place Kennel in the woods of Wisconsin, a sanctuary for rescued and retired sled dogs entrusted to her by some of the sport’s greatest mushers. She later wrote about this life in her memoir, “In Gentler Valleys Roaming,” published by Northern Light Media.

The dogs were Julie’s companions, teachers and fellow travelers. She ran trails under winter moons, welcomed dogs in need of a home, and opened her kennel to people who wanted to

learn what she had learned: how to drive a sled, how to care for the dogs, and how to understand the bond between humans, animals and the natural world.

In 2000, at an Iditarod banquet, Julie met musher Aliy Zirkle and asked if Aliy would take her onto the trail and teach her to winter camp with the dogs. Aliy agreed. They traveled by sled from Aliy’s dog yard onto the frozen Chena River under a full moon, at minus 30 degrees. When they stopped, Aliy said simply, “We’re home.” They pitched Arctic tents on the ice. Aliy handed Julie a saw and told her to cut spruce boughs for the dogs’ beds. Julie climbed the riverbank by headlamp and moonlight, finding joy in the cold solitude.

Those who knew Julie will remember her that way: headlamp on, saw in hand, climbing a riverbank in the dark to gather spruce boughs for the dogs. She brought that same spirit to everything she loved.

Julie is survived by her children, Elisabeth “Betsy” (Scott) Spore, Timothy (Teuta Burnazi) Cade and Mike (Marissa) Cade; grandchildren Annica Pape, Taras Cade, Fina Cade and Aurora Cade; great-grandchildren, Rosalyn and Soraya Taalbi; and her brother, Bill Verrette. She was preceded in death by her parents, Louis and Ruth Verrette.

The family thanks the teams at Rainbow Hospice and Commonheart, and the many caregivers and hospital staff who supported Julie through her illness.

A memorial service will be held at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 221 W. B St., Iron Mountain, at 1 p.m. June 19, preceded by visitation at noon.

Memorials may be directed to the Iditarod Trail Committee or to Parkinson’s research. Online condolences may be left at www.gundersonfh.com.