Mona Abel

Mona (Meittunen) Abel, age 80 young, passed away peacefully on July 23, 2021 after a bout with an infection and subsequent surgery earlier this year.

She was born on October 25, 1940 and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota and graduated from Hibbing High School in 1958. She attended Hibbing Community College and then married Dr. Raymond Abel Jr. DC on September 19, 1959 and then lived in St. Louis, Missouri, San Antonio, Texas, and settled back in St. Louis Park and Edina, Minnesota after Ray completed his schooling and his military service. Mona and Ray adopted their children, Scott and Melanie and Mona raised them while Ray practiced in St. Louis Park. Mona volunteered with several organizations in the Twin Cities. They moved back to Hibbing and Side Lake, Minnesota in 1976 and Ray continued his practice in Hibbing as Mona began to volunteer and was eventually hired at the Iron Range Interpretive Center as a volunteer coordinator and eventually with Iron World as the event coordinator. Mona loved working with the demonstrators and eventually the entertainers and performers she booked to perform at Iron World. She retired from Iron World in April of 2000 but continued working as a massage therapist after going back to school to get her license in her 50's. She wrote and published 3 cookbooks and she continued working on various events helping her friends and colleagues in the tourism industry in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Mona used her retirement time wisely and traveled extensively in the United States and abroad and had many adventures with her friends and family on these trips and was able to meet many cousins on these trips. Mona was an extrovert and enjoyed spending time with family, friends, and neighbors and always seemed to have a full social schedule. There was always some party planning in the works and her summers were always booked to the max to take advantage of the Minnesota summer. Once Mona got her bathing suit on, she was always relaxed and ready to captain the pontoon. Mona's event planning skills helped start Riverside's “Skipping Contest” and The Red Bra Society. She was an excellent pasty maker, a former go-go dancer, a trained belly dancer, a member of the Feldman's Department Store Hosiery Club, and she would like everybody to know she went away with no eyebrows on.

She is survived by her son, Dr. Scott Abel (Dr. Sarah Abel); daughter, Melanie Schomber; grandsons, JR Schomber, Gunnar Abel, Cedric Abel, Dieter Abel, and Sigurd Abel; sister, Carole (Mike) Borovac; brother, Roger (Ruth) Meittunen; sister, Patti (Dr. Ronald) Sundquist; brothers, Mark (Tammy) Meittunen, and Todd Meittunen; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

She is preceded in death by her father, John Meittunen; mother, Myra Meittunen; brother-in-law, Dr. Ron (Patti) Sundquist; and infant brother, Keith.

Visitation will be at 11 a.m. with a service to follow at 12 p.m. on August 6, 2021, at Wesley United Methodist Church 303 E. 23rd St. Hibbing, MN 55746. A luncheon will follow at Riverside Inn at Side Lake, Minnesota at 2 p.m.

Memorials are preferred in lieu of flowers.