Grygla - Menford Blilie, 86, died on Friday, August 28, 1998 at Ah Gwah Ching Home near Walker.
Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 1 at Grace Lutheran Church in Grygla with Reverend Roberta Johnson officiating. Joy Nordby provided the special music. Burial was in St. Olaf Cemetery in Grygla. The Green Funeral Home of Thief River Falls was in charge of the arrangements.
Menford Adolph Blilie was born on February 20, 1912 near Malcolm, ND, the son of Jens and Olena (Berg) Blilie.
He married Emma Henry on January 1, 1945. The couple made their home in Grand Forks, ND and later moved to rural Grygla where they lived until 1989. Menford's many different jobs included working at the Land O' Lakes Turkey Plant and helping forest rangers put out peat fires. He helped build the Grygla School and also raised cattle on his farm.
In 1989 Menford moved to Valley Home in Thief River Falls and in January of 1990 moved to Ah Gwah Ching near Walker where he has since resided.
He is survived by two daughters, Mary (Eugene) Goulet and Ida Blilie, both of Thief River Falls; two sons, Menford Jr. of Bloomington and Edward of Montana; one brother, Walter Blilie of Maplewood; two sisters, Lil Sansoucci and Cecelia Baldos, both of California; 13 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Emma on September 8, 1994; one son, Clifford; his parents; and four brothers, John, Clifford, Ellsworth and George.