Debra Severson, 59, of Thief River Falls, passed away on Saturday, September 29, at Sanford Hospital in Thief River Falls with her loving family at her side.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 4 at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Thief River Falls, with Father Rick Lambert presiding. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Thief River Falls.
Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. with a 7 p.m. prayer service on Wednesday, October 3 at Johnson Funeral Service in Thief River Falls. Visitation will also be held one hour prior to the service on Thursday at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church.
Debra Ann Holmstrom was born June 13, 1959 in St. Paul, the daughter of Donald and Maxine (Szczepanski) Holmstrom. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Strandquist. Deb attended school in Strandquist graduating with Honors in the class of 1977. Starting in high School Deb worked bartending at the Rainbow Club at Strandquist and was a CNA at the Karlstad Nursing Home.
On July 12, 1980 Deb was united in marriage to Eddie Severson at St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Strandquist. To this union three children were born: Jeremy, Amanda and Amber. They lived in Karlstad and Red Lake Falls for a short time before making their permanent home in Thief River Falls.
Deb earned her LPN and RN Degrees at Northland Community Technical College in Thief River Falls. She continued on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND.
While earning these degrees Deb worked a full time job plus various other part time jobs in the nursing field including teaching Practical Nursing at UND and NCTC, Northwest Medical Center First Medical, CNC 1 Unit of Northwest Medical Center where she was Supervisor, House Supervisor at the hospital in Thief River Falls and also did some Floor Nursing at the hospital. As a Nurse Practitioner, Deb worked in Oklee, Fosston and Erskine. Her last position was at the hospital in Warren working as an RN, which she enjoyed a lot. In July of 2017 Deb was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.
Deb’s life was being a nurse and caregiver. She was an angel before she was an angel. She had a love for animals, recycling and caring for the earth, her indoor and outdoor plants, shopping for a good sale and letting Eddie know what he should do next. She absolutely adored her grandchildren and all her family; as busy as Deb was she always made time for her family, friends and co-workers.
Survivors include her loving husband of 38 years Eddie; daughters Amanda (Keith Neadeau Jr.) Severson and Amber Severson; grandchildren, Kiana, Karson and Callie all of Thief River Falls; mother Maxine Holmstrom of Strandquist; sisters Kathy (Randy) Nelson of Karlstad, Renee (Jim Nystul) Nelson and Brenda (Jeff) Poe all of Thief River Falls; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends.
Deb is preceded in death by son Jeremy in infancy; father Donald Holmstrom and her grandparents.
Condolences may be sent at www.johnsonfuneralservice.com