Captain Gus Goransson

Cap'n Gus

Coast Guard WWII

Capt. Gus Goransson 1966

Taken to Send Home to Sweden 1940s

The article on the following pages was written about my dad, Capt. Gustav Goransson, who at the time was skipper on the S/S John Dykstra, a ship that was part of the Ford Motor Company Fleet in Detroit, MI.

Although he never sought publicity, he was a favorite target for reporters and journalists throughout his career because of his unusual professional experiences, unique character, colorful storytelling style, and absolute ability to make a visitor feel at ease. Typically Swedish, he was modest and soft spoken. He had the ability to relate his exciting adventures without placing himself at center stage.

Out of everything ever written about my dad, the following captures his personality best and chronicles the events in his life the most completely.

I suppose no interviewer could ever mark all the important events in a person's life, even if writing a book, and one event I would like to add to this article is that prior to my mother's passing, my brother also died in an auto accident in 1971. So in addition to losing his wife, he had also lost another family member, my brother Joseph. Shortly after my brother passed away, he lost both his parents, then his wife. So he was now on his own trying to guide a very spirited daughter (me) thru young adulthood. Somehow, we both survived! (Thanks, Dad!) I mention this because while his life may seem very exciting and carefree, he navigated many personal tragedies as well as he did stormy Lake Superior in January. He was always "the rock" to those closest to him, always steady and there for others. His passing was one of the greatest losses in my life.

Please feel free to drop me a note. If you have any good "sea stories" to tell or photos to share, I'll be glad to link it to this site.

I received a very nice letter and memoir from Capt.Tim Dayton which you can read here.

Capt. Dick Metz also was kind enough to write to me. A fascinating adventurer, author and deep sea diver, Capt. Metz has added his memoirs to my site. Read it here.

The article below is special because it was not only written by a talented journalist, whose now very successful magazine was just beginning around 1982, but Jim Marshall was also his friend, so brought a very special insight to the story. Another detail Jim left out of the story was that it was he who introduced my dad to his second wife, and love of his life, Shirley Winship Goransson, formerly of Duluth, MN.

Reprinted with the kind permission of James R. Marshall, chairman of Lake Superior Magazine and author of this article.