Lois Marie (Larson) Bergan

Thursday, September 24, 2015 2:14 pm

Lois Marie (Larson) Bergan, 81, passed away Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015 at N. C. Little Hospice in Edina, Minn. A funeral service is at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at Central Lutheran Church, 333 So. 12th St. in Minneapolis, with visitation an hour before the service. Burial follows at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Memorials preferred to Central Lutheran Church Memorial Fund, specifically to the Restoration Center, OWLS Jacobson Seniors Fund. washburn-mcreavy.com.

Lois was born and raised on the family farm near Lanesboro, Minn. Oct. 26, 1933, and was baptized and confirmed at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. She graduated from Lanesboro High School in 1951. After attending Mankato Business School and working there as a secretary for several years, Lois spent a summer working in Yellowstone National Park and discovered how much she enjoyed traveling and working in the outdoors. She went on to work at Mancos, Colo. and near San Diego, Calif. She attended the nursing program at Montana State University, graduating in 1960, and practiced nursing at the Johnson Medical Clinic in Lanesboro. She was able to enjoy more travel on a two-month trip to Norway and other parts of Europe with a girlfriend. Eventually, Lois moved to Minneapolis and worked as a clinic nurse for the Minneapolis Health Dept. Lois married Laverne Bergan June 15, 1972, at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, where they met. An active member of the church, she volunteered and after retirement attended many activities with the OWLS (Older Wiser Lutherans). Lois was proud of her Norwegian heritage and enjoyed celebrations like Syttende Mai, lutefisk suppers and making Norwegian treats for family dinners. She had a quiet soul, but was always industrious, with many talents and skills: drawing, painting, sewing, singing and playing piano. She enjoyed gardening all her life and did so until she became ill earlier this year.

Lois is survived by her husband, Laverne; sister, Louise (Glenn) Schulz; nieces Barbara (Joel) Forthun and Renee (Scott) Owen; sister-in-law Evelyn Larson; many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and -nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; Clarence F. Larson and Ida (Lee) Larson; brothers Charles and Odell Larson; and stepmother, Edith Larson.