Deaths leaves void for friends, families

The Wednesday deaths of two Enbridge Energy workers from Superior have torn holes in the lives of their families.

Steve Arnovich, 35, and David Mussatti, 27, died in Clearbrook, Minn., when the oil pipeline they were helping repair caught fire.

Arnovich's family remembers him as an essential part of their lives

"He was a prize as a child," said Arnovich's mother, Elaine. "A gift, a true gift."

Her husband, Paul, described their son as "a kid without a flaw."

"He was the best son, brother, husband, friend anybody could ask for," said his older brother, Jeff.

Family and friends said they could count on Arnovich, and his mechanical aptitude, for a helping hand.

"We called on Steve for everything," said his mother. "And he came."

Tom Belanger, Arnovich's best friend since childhood, spoke with Arnovich on Wednesday, the day he died. The two planned to put in a garage door for Arnovich's brother-in-law this weekend.

Belanger, now a contractor in Buffalo, Minn., remembered Arnovich's response: "I'll be there."

The Superior native was a gifted baseball and football player in high school. After graduating from Superior High School in 1990, he earned his bachelor's degree in corporate health from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The Superior man also built his own house from the ground up with help from fellow Superior High School football players, including Belanger.

He married his wife, Candy, in July 1998. Their daughter, Aili, turns 5 on Saturday.

"His wife, Candy, said, 'What is Aili going to do without her daddy?' " Elaine Arnovich said. "They did everything together."

Arnovich began working for Enbridge about six years ago, his family said. He liked his job as welder, Belanger said, and was very methodical and safety-conscious.

Friends have been gathering around the family to lend support.

"This is the saddest thing that's ever happened to my friends," said Ron Orlandi, who coached both Arnovich boys in high school baseball and has known the family for years. "Let's do a little praying for them."

Mussatti, of Bessemer, Mich., recently had begun to put down roots in Superior, said his parents, David and Vicki Mussatti.

Mussatti got engaged a year ago, Vicki Mussatti said. He and his fiancee were waiting for her to finish school before they got married, she said. Mussatti's father said the couple had purchased a home in Superior together.

"Things were going good for him," David Mussatti said. "Things were just lining up."

Mussatti said his son was an avid outdoorsman. The two went deer hunting together in Michigan's Upper Peninsula earlier this fall and the younger Mussatti got a spikehorn buck. The younger Mussatti also liked the fish the North Shore, the Brule River and the waterways around Milwaukee.

"He loved his trout and his steelhead and his walleye," David Mussatti said.

David Mussatti said his son enjoyed his work with Enbridge.

"He liked Superior. He liked the guys he worked with in Superior a lot," David Mussatti said.

The younger David Mussatti's death dims a source of joy for his family.

"He's the type that always had a smile, a good word," the senior David Mussatti said.

"I never heard anybody complain about him," he added.

"He was devoted to his family," Vicki Mussatti said. "He was young, but he loved his family, and we loved him."

--Duluth News Tribune staff writer Will Ashenmacher contributributed to this story.