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   Walter (Zeke) Putnam passed away on March 27th, 2024. He is survived by his wife Colleen Hilts, his daughter Nicole Putnam-Frenchik, his grandson Nicholas Putnam, and his brother Michele Putnam. He is proceeded in death by his son Todd Putnam.

   Zeke was born in Pine River Minnesota in December 1941 and was raised by Mick and Violet Putnam in Longville Minnesota. He left home to attend college in St. Cloud, Minnesota. When his education was completed he joined the Air Force and was sent to flight school in Big Springs, Texas. He received his lieutenant’s wings and spent his enlistment training pilots for air combat in Vietnam. When his enlistment was over he accepted a position flying as a co-pilot with United Airlines until he was laid off in 1976. He went back to college to study and got his Master’s Degree in Social Work and moved his family back to Longville until 1982 when he moved to Alaska to manage a variety of inpatient treatment programs throughout the state.

   Zeke and Colleen married in 2000 while living in Alaska.

   He was a man who loved learning and understanding anything from politics to quantum physics. He spent his later years in Bemidji, Minnesota with his wife Colleen and two cats, Kitty and Boots, watching documentaries about politics and the ever changing world.

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