Funeral services were held on Friday, April 27 at Evanger Lutheran Church in rural Grand Forks, N.D. Interment was held at Telemarken Cemetery, rural Goodridge.
Gunda Helena Larson was born on January 25, 1913 in Red Lake County, the fifth child of Torjus and Sophie (Reis) Larson. She was baptized and confirmed at Telemarken Church near Goodridge. Gunda attended Meadowlark and Brunkeberg rural schools and high school in Crookston.
At the age of 19, she married Sigurd Waldemar Pederson on July 31, 1932 at the Telemarken Church. Together they raised two children, Barbara Elaine and Gary David. Gunda and Sigurd purchased a farm in Grand Forks County and Gunda also worked out of the home as a nurse at Valley Memorial in Grand Forks.
Throughout her years Gunda wrote many pieces of poetry and stories about many subjects. Gunda was a firm believer in good literature for children and adults. She also enjoyed painting stories of her childhood growing up with her parents and nine siblings in northwest Minnesota. In addition, she created and sold many floral, scenic and folk paintings. Gunda was a winner of the 1983 North Dakota “Art On The Road” contest in which a reproduction of her painting appeared on billboards throughout North Dakota.
Her art work has been recognized at the North Dakota Heritage Center at the state capitol in Bismarck, N.D., and some of it has been placed in the folk art collection there. She was a member of the North Dakota Council of Art. As a member, she created a small ornament called “Grandma’s Angel” which was hung on the Governor’s Tree in 1981, and featured on the cover of the “North Dakota Christmas Tree” booklet.
Gunda also was a firm believer in the lessons that we all can learn from our forefathers; and was especially interested in the lives of the Norwegian immigrants who settled in Northwest Minnesota. In her later years she wrote a history book tracing her family’s history back to the “Old Country”, Norway, which she shared with family members and especially her grandchildren. This gift will forever be treasured.
She enjoyed quilting and was a special friend to many animals. She was a writer for a weekly newspaper; interviewing people who had lived in the area and wrote their stories for publication. She viewed gardening as a “must” and through her years continued to plant trees, particularly fruit varieties.
Gunda was a member of Evanger Lutheran Church, rural Grand Forks, N.D.
Survivors include her daughter, Barbara Harris of Bismarck, N.D; son, Gary Pederson of Albuquerque, N.M.; seven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; sisters, Laura Radtke of Oshkosh, Wis., Thordis Langerud of Onamia, Elsie Harter of Wayzata, Ingeborg Johnson of Thief River Falls and Cecelia Ostertag of Oshkosh, Wis.; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; one granddaughter; brother, Knute; sisters, Helga Marie VeVea, Petra Nigle and Bertha Kenyon.
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