Grafton, N.D. - Magda Russum, 96, died Saturday, October 28, 2000 at the Lutheran Sunset Home in Grafton, N.D.
Funeral services will be held today (Wednesday, November 1) at 2 p.m. at Bethel Free Lutheran Church in Grafton. Interment will be in the Grafton City Cemetery.
Visitation was held Tuesday, October 31, from 5 to 7 p.m. with a 7 p.m. prayer service at Tollefson Funeral Home in Grafton. Visitation will also be held for one hour prior to services at the church.
Magda Russum was born on July 12, 1904 on her grandmother Mathia Kaldor's farm in Norway township of Traill county in North Dakota, the daughter of John and Sina (Kaldor) Molskness. She spent her early life on the farm, attending Norway School 3. She also attended a Norwegian language parochial school sponsored by Aal Lutheran Church of rural Hillsboro for six weeks. In March of 1916, the family moved to a farm in Polk Centre township of Pennington county . She completed the course of study for a common school diploma at Black River School District 99. She was confirmed at Numedahl Evangelical Free Church in Pennington county.
In 1922, Rev. Ole Sande arranged for Magda to go to Grafton, N.D. where she worked for Asborg Russum. On October 16, 1924, she married Palmer Russum, and the couple farmed in the Grafton area. Palmer died on September 28, 1979. On March 9, 1994, Magda moved to the Lutheran Sunset Home where she resided until the time of her death.
Survivors include two sons, Vernon (Dorothy) Russum and John (Delaine) Russum, both of Grafton; five grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; five brothers, Henry, Maynard, Gerhard and Raymond Molskness, all of Thief River Falls, and Bernard Molskness of Centralia, Wash.; and two sisters, Signe Jorgenson and Dagne Irwin, both of Thief River Falls.
She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Amanda Hinden; and a brother, Clarence Molskness.
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