Doris Larson, age 98, of Fridley died July 3, 2018 at The Homestead/VOA in Anoka. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, July 6th at Strike Life Tributes in Isanti with Pastor John Foley
Isanti directions during Hotel Construction – Maps
DORIS JEANETTE LARSON
-this life tribute will contain quotes coming directly from a Eulogy she wrote for herself after her husband died
Doris, 98, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away peacefully July 3, 2018 following a stroke. Doris was born at the Lars Lindberg farm (Athens Township, Isanti County) on Dec. 16, 1919. She was the eldest of 7 children born to Clarence and Agnes (Norberg) Lindberg. She had six siblings: 3 brothers: Warren, Raymond and Vernon and 3 sisters: Gladys, Gloria and Grace.
Doris and her family lived on 3 farms in Athens Township. Her family lived with her Grandma Lindberg on the Lars Lindberg farm (grandpa Lindberg passed years before she was born). Doris was six when her Grandma passed, making for such a traumatic moment. She still remembered it in her final years. Her family relocated to a private farm and eventually to her Grandpa Norberg’s farm.
Doris was a “hard worker”, but she did not care for the outside farm work, especially with the animals. “She did not like the animals and she knew they did not like her (especially the cows)”. Her work on the farm was cleaning, cooking and taking care of her siblings. In her teenage years she would work for other farm families that were having babies. Typical for her time, Doris went to a one room schoolhouse. She “graduated” from the 8th grade. High School in Cambridge was available, but only for the students that could supply their own transportation.
Doris left the farm (before her family relocated to Bradford) when she was 16. She went to Minneapolis in 1935 (the Depression) to work as a Nanny/Housekeeper. She would send money home to her parents to help support her siblings. Following her Nanny years, she also worked cleaning houses and as a waitress. “After doing housework during the Depression, I felt like I was on vacation doing waitress work”.
At the outbreak of World War II, Doris became the embodiment of “Rosie the Riveter”. She began a 4 year career as a machinist at the Twin Cities Arsenal in New Brighton. Doris married her first husband, Roger Berglund in 1942. He served in the military until 1945. With the war ending, Doris left her machinist job for a job at Honeywell. She worked there until her son Ronnie was born in 1947. She was a stay at home mom for 4 years. Doris and her husband purchased a house in Fridley in 1947 with a payment of $59.51 per month. In 1951, Doris elected to return to work. Honeywell not only rehired her, but allowed her to regain her 2 years of seniority from before. Doris was proud of the fact that despite only having an eighth grade education, she continually received promotions at Honeywell (primarily because of her excellent math skills). In 1953, Doris and Roger “parted ways”. Over the years that Doris and Ron lived in their Fridley home, they had several of her family members staying with them as they left the farm. Doris just wanted to be part of a large family like she had when she grew up. She was always the big sister.
Doris married her second husband, Harry Larson, on January 25, 1958. Harry was a widower with 3 children. Doris now became a mother to Duane, Gary and his 2 year old daughter, Debbie. She had her big family. “I got 2 more sons and a daughter. We had a nice family and good children who have been good to me”. They moved into a new house in Fridley on 7th Street. Doris had lived at that house for 60 years. Doris was a very dedicated wife and mother. Together, she and Harry worked countless hours at their jobs to make better lives for their family. Doris loved her Aerospace job at Honeywell, so much so that she went to technical school (‘A’ average) to be able to transfer to a NASA division (and make more money). Doris and Harry were very dedicated to their children. They wanted them to have whatever education they wanted and they would pay for it. Life struck a tragic blow to Doris and Harry when their son Duane was killed in Vietnam in 1970.
Doris retired at 58 from Honeywell in 1977 after 32 years of service. She and Harry purchased a cabin on Big Sandy Lake in northern Minnesota that same year. Doris and Harry spent many happy days at their cabin, which she still owns. They liked having family visit them at their cabin, but they enjoyed having all their grandchildren the most! Doris was a long time member of Spring Lake Park Baptist Church (Eagle Brook Church).
In 2005, Harry passed away. Her sister, Gloria (her husband Walt passed away in 2000) then moved in with Doris. They lived as roommates in the Fridley house until November 2017 when they relocated to assisted living at the Homestead of Anoka. Doris suffered a stroke on May 17, 2018. Even though she worked hard at rehab, she just didn’t have the stamina to overcome the devastating damage from the stroke. Doris passed away peacefully with her sister Gloria and her niece Paula at her side.
She was preceded in death by her sister, Gladys; her brothers, Vernon and Raymond; her son, Duane (Vietnam) and her husband, of 47 years, Harry. She will be lovingly missed by her brother, Warren; her sisters, Gloria and Grace; daughter, Debbie (Bruce); her sons, Ron (Karen) and Gary (Sherri); 7 grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
We especially want to thank The Homestead/VOA for all the special attention and support they gave to Doris during her final months and to Hospice for their support during her final days.
One of my favorite memories of Doris was when her niece Karolyn and brother Warren brought all the aunts to my house, up in Pollock Pines, California. This is just outside Placerville, which is where gold was discovered, that started the Gold Rush in the 1800s. Placerville has the oldest and longest running hardware store west of the Mississippi River. Opened in the 1840s. I took Warren, Wendell and Grace, and the Aunts on a visit to the Placerville Hardware Store. Karolyn and I finally ended up on a bench outside the store on the sidewalk. It was, like, over 2 hours they all spent in there. Men on the tool side, Women on the housewares side. Before Karolyn and I went outside to wait, the stories about tools and houseware items from back in the day, was just wonderful. They had such fun in that store. And they all loved the park in Coloma, on the South Fork of the American River. It is where the State of California Gold Discovery Park and Sutter’s Mill is located. All that old mining equipment and housing replicas. With Karolyn and I following along behind. I enjoyed all of their time with me. I will miss Doris and am sending love and thoughts to the whole family.
My family is sorry to hear of the passing of Doris, we would go to the family reunions at Lake George near Bethel, Mn with the families and other relatives.