Edna Sorgaard

Edna Sorgaard, age 102, of Lengby, MN, passed away on Tuesday (March 18th) at Essentia Health Living Center in Fosston. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday (March 24th) at Fridhem Lutheran Church in Lengby with the Rev. Aage Carlsen officiating. Interment will be in Kingo Lutheran Cemetery, Fosston. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the service on Monday at the church. The Carlin-Hoialmen Funeral Home of Fosston is in charge of the arrangements and messages of condolence may be sent at carlinhoialmen.co Edna was born on May 15, 1911, near Oslo, Norway. Her father Gustav Norvold, already working in America, sent money back to his family in Norway for tickets to join him. In 1912, Edna, along with her mother, Pauline, and her older brother, Reinhart, sailed to America. They first lived for a time in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where Gustav had work and later moved to Edinburgh, North Dakota, where Edna started school at Adams School. She would later attend school in Twin Valley, Minnesota. In 1928 when Edna was seventeen, Gustav bought a farm near Lengby, Minnesota. One summer day in 1928 Edna and a friend were walking home from Spring Lake on a road east of Lengby and a young man in his 1926 Chevy coupe stopped and gave them a ride home. Two years later, on June 18, 1930, Edna married that young man, Clarence Sorgaard. Together they raised their family and worked their farm on the edge of Lengby. They lived on that farm for over 50 years. In addition to the hard work of being a farmers wife through the Depression and beyond, Edna gave a lot of time to her church. She was an active member of the LCW and the Sewing Circle. She cooked, baked, quilted, sewed, and knitted for various church activities and causes. Her knitted pot holders, scarves, and afghans often brought spirited bidding wars at Fridhem Lutheran Churchs Fall Festivals. Some of those battles became family traditions. Edna smiled with pride over the funds that her work brought to the church. And if that wasnt enough to keep her busy, later she cooked at the summer Boy Scout camp at White Earth and then went to work in the kitchen at the Fosston Hospital getting on the road before six oclock on cold winter mornings. She moved to the Linda Marie apartments in Fosston in 1992 after the family farm was sold and Clarence was in the nursing home. She made daily visits to be with him until he passed away on September 7, 1994. She moved to an assisted living apartment at Prairie Pines in 2005 and celebrated her 100th birthday there with her family and friends. While at Prairie Pines she continued to knit, read, and remain active in their activities. People often brought her yarn with special requests. She made afghans for each of her grandchildren that were presents to them at their high school graduations. She especially loved poetry. Reading it and writing it. She kept her sharp mind and quick wit to the end, firing off one liners to her laughing visitors. This comment was often made, She is a special lady. She always thought of others before herself. Edna passed away on March 18, 2014, leaving behind a thankful family and worlds of memories for them and for the people who knew her.Surviving are her three children, Clemence (Sylvia) of Fargo, ND, Roger of Wyoming, MN, and Joyce (Phil) Sieburg of Richfield, MN. Also, ten grandchildren, John (Xiao Tong) Sorgaard, Eric (Tana) Sorgaard, Mark (Lara) Sorgaard, Rodney (Lauren) Sorgaard, Richard (Debbie) Sorgaard, Craig Sorgaard (Keri), Cindy (Tim) Griffin, Daniel Sieburg (Margo), David (Jocelyn) Sieburg, and JoLynn (Jacques) Baumer. Edna also had 20 great grandchildren and 5 great great grandchildren. Other survivors included many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Clarence, brother Reinhart, sister Esther, daughter-in-law Cathy, and granddaughter Suzanne.