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Berniece L. Nesdahl • 1924 - 2002 Berniece L. Nesdahl died Friday, June 28, 2002, at Trinity Hospital in Minot. Berniece was born January 31, 1924 in Martin, ND. She was the daughter of Earnest "Bill" and Lydia (Allwin) Brietzke. She and her family moved to Minot when she was three and a half years old. Berniece attended school in Minot and graduated from Minot High in 1942. Two years later, on March 20, 1944, she married Anfin "Andy" Nesdahl and they lived together in Minot, raising a family of four children, until his death on November 17, 1984. She stayed in the home Andy built until health concerns required more care than the family could provide. She moved to Souris Valley Care Center in Velva in the Spring of 2000, residing there until her death. Berniece was confirmed at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, where she remained a member all of her life. The Martha circle at St. Paul's has been remembering her with cards on special occasions for many years and she often remarked about her thankfulness for being remembered by them. The vocation that Berniece chose was that of wife, mother, grandmother, and family member of her aging parents and her brothers and sisters, as well as a special friend to many people in the neighborhood. This vocation can perhaps be best shared through a few personal images of her: traveling by train to California as a young woman to be with her sister at the birth of one of her children when her sister's husband was overseas in the military; crawling on the floor playing with babies who couldn't yet walk, shaking her hair in their faces to make them giggle; smiling with a special happiness when she was visited - no matter how long between visits or what time of day or night it was when the visit happened; having coffee with the elderly women in the neighborhood, sharing her time with women she saw as lonely without her; chatting for hours with neighbor friends; taking time to visit with her children's friends who popped over when her children weren't home; and listening to her singing "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" while she was washing the dishes. These are a few memories among millions. Berniece's vocation wasn't what she did for a living. It was what she did for a life. Survivors: Four children: Gary Nesdahl(Andrea), Sioux
Falls, SD, Chuck Nesdahl (Michelle), Minot, Sharon Apland (John),
Minot, and Dorothy Opstedal (Daryl), Rolette, ND; 15 grandchildren:
JoAnn Kemaldean, John, Jamie, and Jason Apland, Charlie, Joey,
and Katie Nesdahl, Tara Pettys, Melissa Anderson, Dale, Darren,
Jeff, and Brion Opstedal, Nicholas and Elizabeth Nesdahl; one
brother Lawrence Brietzke (Grace), Minot, two sisters Mildred
Swenson (Marvin), Minot, and Pearl Brosteun (Erling), Golden,
CO; 16 great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Grandchildren,
nieces, nephews and spouses of grandchildren are lovingly remembered
but not listed. Funeral: Tuesday, July 2, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Minot, ND. There will be a prayer service for the family at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home at 7 p.m. Monday, July 1. Visitation: Monday, July 1, 2002 from noon to 7:00 p.m. at Thompson Larson Funeral Home in Minot, ND. Burial: Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery, rural Minot, ND. Officiant: Rev. Arie Bertsch Music: Processional "How Great Thou Art"
#519 Active Pallbearers: Berniece's grandchildren, nieces and nephews will be pallbearers Honorary Bearers: Berniece's relatives and friends in the community |