Thief River Falls – Audrey Bergerson, 79, Thief River Falls, passed away on Sunday, September 4, 2016 at Sanford Medical Center in Thief River Falls, surrounded by her family.
Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 at Oak Park Lutheran Church in rural Oklee, with Pastor Jeffery Merseth officiating. Interment will follow at Oak Park Lutheran Cemetery, rural Oklee.
Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. with a 7 p.m. prayer service on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 at Johnson Funeral Service, Thief River Falls. Visitation will also take place one hour prior to the funeral service on Friday at the church.
Audrey Elaine (Gunderson) Bergerson was born on Oct. 21, 1936 in Deer Park Township, Pennington County, the daughter of Ole and Birdie (Flateland) Gunderson. She was baptized at Oak Park Lutheran Church, rural Oklee, and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church, Oklee.
Audrey attended country school at Deer Park Township, District 52. She attended high school in Oklee and graduated from Oklee High School in 1953. Audrey furthered her education in East Grand Forks for Normal Training (Teachers Training). Upon completion she taught school for three years in Pennington County.
On Aug. 9, 1956 Audrey was united in marriage to Melfred Bergerson. The couple made their home in Minneapolis. To this union three children were born.
Audrey taught in Pennington County rural schools for three years before moving to Minneapolis where she worked in the accounting department of Despatch Oven Company. She moved back to the Oklee area where she worked at various jobs. She moved to Thief River Falls in 1987 and worked at Digi-Key until she retired in 2002.
She enjoyed participating in the Deer Park Homemakers Club and the Sons of Norway in Thief River Falls. She also enjoyed her time at the Heritage Center playing Whist and Bunco and hosting her Wednesday Canadian Canasta group at her home.
Her favorite entertainment was reading – especially legal suspense books. She always said it was the cheapest entertainment and was never bored or lonely if she had a good book in her hands. She also loved flower gardening, loved games of all kinds, playing cards with friends, and spending time with family and cooking. As she grew older, she became very interested in politics. There wasn’t a night that she missed Bill O’Reilly (The O’Reilly Factor). Fox News was her favorite channel.
She also enjoyed shopping and travel. A high point of her travels was going to Norway in 1995 with her brother Julian and visiting their ancestral homes. She loved conversing in Norwegian when she had the opportunity and could even read and write some Norwegian as this was the first language she learned as a child.
Audrey is survived by her children, Bonita “Bonny” (Lonny) Cote of Oklee, Laureen Halvorson (special friend, Craig Folkedahl) of Thief River Falls, and Timothy (Yvonne) Bergerson of Thief River Falls; grandchildren, Creanna Cote of Eau Claire, Wis., Rebecca Cote of Fargo, ND, Chad (Abbey) Halvorson of Oakdale, Rachel (Jonathan) Pream of Thief River Falls, Ashley (Timmy) Irelan of Thief River Falls, and Trevor Bergerson (special friend, Jordyn Rhoads) of Hettinger, N.D.; great-grandchildren, Chandler and Harper Pream and Maddex Irelan; nephews, Brad (Nancy) Gunderson and Jamey (Suzie) Gunderson, both of Trail; numerous great-nieces, relatives, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Ole and Birdie Gunderson; brother, Julian and his wife, Shirley; many cousins and friends.