Mary Fjosne

Mary Fjosne, 99, formerly of Wendell, died Wednesday, April 4, 2012, at the Broen Memorial Home in Fergus Falls. Funeral services for Mary Fjosne will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, at Rock Prairie Lutheran Church, rural Elbow Lake, with the Rev. Dan Cole officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation is two hours prior to the service at church. Mary Katheryn Weigand was born on January 30, 1913, in Lawrence Township, Grant County, Minnesota. Her parents were German immigrants, George and Rosina Weigand. She was the oldest daughter in the family of seven children. She attended school in District 28, a country school located about one mile north of the Weigand farm. Sometimes, when the weather was bad, other children would stay overnight at the Weigands and Mary's mother would make pancakes, eggs, fried potatoes, etc. which would have been a luxury for most. Mary certainly inherited the Weigand cooking traits. Anyone who visited Mary's house would be treated generously to coffee and snacks. In her early years she was expected to do her share of the household chores including washing clothes, cleaning and cooking. Her mother baked bread, eight loaves at a time, in order to provide for the large family. Mary most certainly did her part by helping with the kneading and baking. This was done in a wood fired oven and it was Mary and her sister's job to gather wood and dried corn cobs for the fuel. Other tasks included mending and patching the work clothes as well as cutting and sewing many of the dresses worn by the girls. She often commented that one of her mother's favorite sayings was, "use it up, wear it out, or do without". Mary very definitely subscribed to her mother's philosophy. In the depression years of the 1930's she worked for two of her unmarried brothers, Johnnie and Fred, who were farming at the time. She cooked their meals and kept up the household where they lived for about four years. On October 14, 1934, she married Norman Fjosne, a farmer in Stony Brook Township. They lived on a farm located two miles east and one-half mile north of Wendell where they raised cattle, hogs, horses, and chickens along with crops needed for the livestock. Mary prided herself with her garden and provided fresh and canned vegetables forthemselves as well as others. They later purchased land one mile north of Wendell and moved to this farm. It was here that Mary became noted for her peonies and had numerous plants growing along their driveway. Mary lived on this farm until the mid-1970's when she moved into a house in Wendell. While living in Wendell she became an avid "quilter" and made numerous quilts which she donated almost as fast as she made them. She also was involved in the many of the quilting activities of the Rock Prairie Church. It was in Wendell that she developed an uncanny ability to raise ferns. Mary seemed to know exactly how much water (either rain water collected from her roof or melted snow) a fern needed and they did well in her front room and usually died when she gave one to someone else. Although Mary never had any children, she did love to have children around her. She always managed to have treats and enough interesting toys around that would keep them occupied for hours. Mary considered all of her nephews and nieces as her "family" and loved it when they visited her house. Although Mary only attended school through the eighth grade, she was proficient in reading, writing, and working with numbers. She read and understood her Bible better than most. This skill came in handy when she taught Sunday School and Bible School at the Rock Prairie Church. Mary was also an active member of the women's activities in Rock Prairie including the quilting bees. She continued living in Wendell until 2009 when, at the age of 96, her health began failing and she moved into the Broen Home in Fergus Falls. Mary is survived by one sister, Clara Lysne of Fergus Falls, and numerous nephews and nieces as well as a host of friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, four step sisters, Bertha Weigand, Emma Gehrke, Rosella Gehrke and Martha Lohse, two step brothers, William (Willy) Weigand and George Weigand, three brothers, John (Johnnie) Weigand, Fred (Fritz) Weigand and August Weigand and two sisters, Louise Christenson and Lena Greeley.

Funeral Home: Erickson-Smith Funeral Home - Elbow Lake 116 1st Street NE Elbow Lake, MN US 56531

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Previous Events

Visitation
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Service
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
cemetery
Tuesday, April 10, 2012