By Sarah Light, staff writer

Lance Michael Klimek, the Clarks Grove native involved in a fatal snowmobile accident over the weekend in Michigan, was a man that &8220;everyone thought the world of,&8221; his mother told the

Tribune Wednesday afternoon.

&8220;Everybody he met loved him,&8221; Esther Zezulka said of her son. &8220;It&8217;s just unbelievable. From the time he was a little guy till now, everybody talks about what a wonderful person he was. He&8217;s going to be missed.&8221;

Klimek, 35, died Saturday evening during a snowmobile accident in Ironwood, Mich.

According to a Michigan State Police news release, Klimek struck a dock at the Gogebic County Park on Michigan&8217;s Lake Gogebic at about 7:40 p.m. Saturday. He was pronounced deceased at the scene of the accident.

The release stated alcohol and high speed were believed to be factors in the accident, and the incident remains open pending further investigation by the Michigan State Police Wakefield Post.

His memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Theodore Catholic Church in Albert Lea with visitation one hour prior to the service at the church.

&8220;He was just a wonderful father and a wonderful son,&8221; Zezulka said. &8220;He&8217;s going to be sorely missed. He was just a wonderful person.&8221;

Klimek attended elementary school in Clarks Grove and graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1989.

Upon graduation from high school, he attended Alexandria Technical College.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard in 1990 and served as a military policeman in Desert

Storm from 1990 through 1991. He was honorably discharged in 1996.

He married Jennifer Paulson in Rochester in 1995 and had two sons, Cade Michael and Connor Jon. The family lived in Rochester.

&8220;He was a great hands-on father,&8221; Zezulka said. &8220;He has two beautiful sons.&8221;

Sue Hansen of Clarks Grove, a close family friend, said she will always remember the first time Klimek walked past her house when he was 8 years old.

&8220;He was so friendly, even as just a little child. He was a very happy-go-lucky child,&8221; Hansen said.

&8220;He grew up to be a very nice young man.&8221;

She said she was shocked to hear the news of Klimek&8217;s death and that her family&8217;s hearts go out to the his family.

&8220;I think everybody in town&8217;s feeling it a bit,&8221; she said.