Thief
River Falls - Arda Anderson, 75, died Sunday, August 20, 2000 at
Oakland Park Nursing Home in Thief River Falls.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. today (Wednesday, August 23) at Ekelund Lutheran Church, rural Goodridge, with Rev. Robert Dahlen officiating. Gloria Sistad will be the organist, and the soloist will be Terry Ruud. Casketbearers will be Wayne Ruud, Richard Parnow, David Parnow, Ken Lindquist, Rory Haugen, Gerry Tharaldson, Wally Anderson, Bob Ruud and Clayton Grimley. Interment was in Ekelund Cemetery in Highlanding township of Pennington county.
Visitation was held from 5 to 8 p.m. with a 7 p.m. prayer service on Tuesday, August 22, at Green Funeral Home in Thief River Falls. Visitation will also be held for one hour prior to services at the church.
Arda Esther Franzman was born on September 28, 1924 in Espelie township of Marshall county, the daughter of Alfred and Laura (Bucholz) Franzman. She was baptized on February 8, 1925 at the home of John Brueckner by Rev. C.F. Knauft. In 1938, she was confirmed by Rev. Baumann at Bethel Lutheran Church in Grygla. She attended school in Grygla and Goodridge, graduating from Goodridge High School in 1942. Arda worked at the Goodridge Post Office for a year and then at the Navy Yard in Bremerton, Wash. until September of 1943.
In September of 1943, she was united in marriage to Roy Johnson. The couple made their home on a farm in Highlanding township of Pennington county. They were the parents of four children. In 1967, the family moved to Seattle, Wash. where Arda worked for See's Candy. In 1968, Arda returned to Thief River Falls where she worked at Northwestern Hospital for two years. In 1969, she began working for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company and worked there for 13 years. She was also employed at the Goodridge Hartz Store for several years.
In June of 1969, Arda was united in marriage to Orvin Anderson. The couple made their home in Highlanding township, and Arda helped raise Orvin's two youngest children, Tim and Julie. Orvin died on April 7, 1999.
She enjoyed all kinds of birds, especially bluebirds, and her yard was had many houses and feeders. She also enjoyed gardening, knitting, crocheting, quilting, cooking, canning and spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.
Arda was a member of Ekelund Lutheran Church where she was active in Ladies Aid. She was also a member of the Audubon Society. She enjoyed maintaining relationships with classmates through the years and helped plan several reunions.
Survivors include three sons, Gary (Sherry) Johnson of Vancouver, Wash., Dale (Judie) Johnson of Abbotsford, B.C. and Arlen (Karen) Johnson of Vadnais Heights; one daughter, Marilyn (Mel) Simmons of Ham Lake; six stepchildren, Florence (Vernon) Becker of Cavalier, N.D., Darlene Halvorson of Thompson, N.D., LaVonne (Larry) Forsberg of Thief River Falls, Linda (Ronald) Engelstad of Grygla and Julie (Gary) Kiesow and Tim (Lois) Anderson, both of Goodridge; 10 grandchildren; 16 step grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; 24 step great-grandchildren; one brother, Russell (Marian) Franzman of Grygla; two sisters, Iris Most of Prescott, Wisc. and Arlette (Cheslie) Ruud of Gatzke; six sisters-in-law; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Orvin on April 7, 1999; her first husband, Roy on December 10, 1999; her parents; one son-in-law, Richard Halvorson; and numerous brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. A00003B2000AG23