Norma Lent

Norma Lent, age 93, of Erskine, MN, passed away on Saturday, September 13th, at McIntosh Senior Living. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 18th, at Grace Lutheran Church in Erskine with the Rev. Pam Thorson officiating. Interment will be in Fairview Cemetery, rural Erskine. Family will greet friends for one hour prior to the service on Saturday (October 18th) at the church. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service of Erskine and messages of condolence may be shared at www.carlinfuneral.com.

Norma Verena Nissen was born May 29, 1932, on the family farm in Drake, North Dakota, to Richard and Rose Yahnke Nissen. She attended school in Drake, graduating from high school in 1950. She attended college in Minot. There, she met her future husband, Charles “Chuck” Lent, when they were paired for a drama project in which they had to write and perform commercials. She spent a year in college and then worked as a teacher at a nursery school in Minot. Norma and Chuck were married on June 18, 1951.

When Chuck served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War from 1952 to 1954, Norma worked at several jobs, including as governness for the four children of Wallace and Mary Dayton in the Twin Cities. She had fond memories of the children. Chuck and Norma moved to Fargo, where Chuck received his pharmacy degree at North Dakota State University. Later, they lived in Minnewaukan, N.D., where Chuck's parents lived.

In 1961, Chuck and Norma moved to Erskine, Minnesota, with their first two children, Laurie and Roger. They bought the local drugstore from Ray and Cleo Vollrath and renamed it Lent Drug. They had two more children, Robert and Steven. They ran the store until 2004, with help from many memorable employees. Norma often worked in the drugstore, doing sales and bookkeeping, sometimes with Luella Ostby babysitting in the early years.

Ray Vollrath only asked for lunch money when he would work for Chuck in the pharmacy, so the Lent family could afford to go on vacation for two or three weeks, visiting relatives in California and North Dakota and making trips to the Black Hills, Yellowstone National Park, Hot Springs, South Dakota, and other destinations. At Yellowstone, Norma perfected her iron grip on her children's wrists near Old Faithful.

When Norma got her driver's license in North Dakota, she didn't have to parallel park. In Minnesota, that was required, so she didn't get a Minnesota driver's license for about 20 years. She would drive as far as Fosston to the east and to Crookston to the west, parking at Laurie's house and letting Laurie drive them somewhere. They shopped, went to garage sales and saw plays. Sometimes they went to Grand Forks and had giant pretzels and Orange Julius drinks at the Columbia Mall.

Norma became a grandma, welcoming Megan in 1984 and Aubrey in 1987. She taught Megan to drive at 11. They once got stuck at a home on Union Lake, where the resident asked who was driving. “We're not telling,” Norma said impishly. Great-granddaughter Jada Rose was born in 2001, and spent lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa and their cats. In 2007, Nissa Rose came along as Norma's third grandchild. During COVID, Nissa spent a good part of the school year in Erskine, often attending distance-learning classes with Grandma curled up nearby on the couch.

Norma and Chuck's greatest sadness came in 1989, when they lost their beloved son Roger to leukemia. Norma also long mourned her older brother, Nanning, who died at the age of 10. Chuck died of colon cancer in 2015 at the age of 83. Norma was a member of the Jolly 14 Homemakers Club for many enjoyable years. She also was part of the Grace Lutheran Church women's group and its Ladies Aid, and she served on the funeral committee. She and Chuck took trips to Aruba, Hawaii and Jamaica. For their 50th anniversary, they had a lovely time staying at a quiet cottage. Norma enjoyed Rob singing to her and Steve playing piano for her, as well as going to farmers markets and rummage sales with her daughter-in-law Teresa (T-Roy) and Laurie. She spent a good deal of time reading the Sunday newspapers from cover to cover. She also liked reading books and magazines, doing puzzles, crafting, painting, going to parks, watching movies and TV shows, having everyone home for Christmas, and spending time with her family. She told many stories of growing up on the farm to her children and grandchildren. Norma happily shared a birthday with Bob Hope.

Norma is survived by her daughter, Laurie, of Erskine; sons, Rob (Teresa) Lent of Minneapolis and Steve Lent of Burnsville; daughter-in-law, Fern Johnson; grandchildren, Megan Rose Violette of Erskine, Aubrey Maya Swenson of Erskine and Nissa Rose Lent of Minneapolis; great-granddaughter, Jada Rose Violette of Red Lake Falls; and a sister, Dorothy Nissen Shoe of San Antonio, Texas. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, Chuck; her son Roger; brothers, Nanning Nissen and Harold Nissen; and sisters, Shirley (Jim) Robbin and Irene Boroff; and a special nephew, Edward “Pepper” Murray.