Marie Tollefsrud

Marie Tollefsrud, 97, of Portland, ND passed away Wednesday, March 2, 2022, at Luther Memorial Home in Mayville, ND. A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 26, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at Bruflat Lutheran Church in Portland. A visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service at the church. Lunch will follow the service at the church. Burial will be held at the Hawley Cemetery in Hawley, MN in the spring.

Marie Lillian Andrews was born May 24, 1924, in St. Louis, Missouri to Martin and Lilly (Topp) Andrews.  She was the middle child and only girl having an older brother, Christopher, and a younger brother, John.  Her mother passed away when Marie was two years of age and she and her brothers were raised by their father and maternal grandparents.  She attended school through the 8^th grade and later obtained her GED of which she was very proud.  She worked at various jobs after school.

 At the end of World War II, she met a soldier from Minnesota who was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood Missouri, Walter L. Tollefsrud.  They were married Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1946.  Following his discharge from the Army, they moved to the Tollefsrud family farm near Ulen, Minnesota.  After a few years, they moved into Ulen and then in 1955 bought a home and settled in Hawley, Minnesota, where they raised their family.  The couple had seven children: Joan, Ann, Betty, Lyle, Fay and Floyd (twins) and Linda.  “Little” Floyd passed away at the age of 9 months.  In 1981, the couple moved to Williston, ND, looking for better jobs. Two of their daughters also lived in that area.

Walter’s health declined following the move and he passed away at the age of 64 on January 2, 1987.  Marie continued to live and work in Williston, retiring from the Bethel Lutheran Home at the age of 76.  Following her retirement, she did volunteer work at Mercy Hospital Swingbed Unit caring for residents’ hair and playing cards, etc. with them.  When her health started to fail, she moved to Tufte Manor in Grand Forks and then to Luther Memorial Home in Mayville on February 1, 2017. 

She was raised in the Greek Orthodox Church but was confirmed into the Lutheran Church at First South Wild Rice Church, Ulen MN, after her marriage.  She was a faithful church member and taught many Sunday School and Bible School classes.  She made sure all of her children were in church every Sunday.

Marie enjoyed doing crafts, crocheting, embroidery, word search, crossword puzzles, playing Scrabble and Rummikub.   She also loved horror movies and old-time westerns.  She made a number of embroidered baby quilts for her great grandchildren.

Marie is survived by her six children: Joan (Ron) Amundson, Clifford ND, Ann Tollefsrud, Grand Forks, ND, Betty (Jay) Helmick, Harwood ND, Lyle (Carol) Tollefsrud, Moorhead MN, Fay Striffler, Fergus Falls, MN, and Linda Irish, Grandin, ND;  10 grandchildren: Joel Amundson, Jeremy (Staci) Amundson, Adam Tollefsrud, Christopher (Stephanie) Helmick, Mya (Ryan) Rustad; Tara (Korby) Seward; Matthew (Amy) Tollefsrud; Daniel Striffler; Angela Wagle, and Jennifer Striffler;  21 great grandchildren: Jennifer (Jason) Bakeberg, Bryan Luft, Nicolle “Colle” Luft, Peyton Silseth, Gannon, Eli and Lily Helmick; Lauryn, Nathan and Blaize Rustad, Hayden and Bennett Maier, Ellie Seward, David and Hannah Tollefrud, Aiden Striffler, Zander Striffler, Clover Striffler, Ava, Sasha and Reece Wagle of Fargo ND;

Preceding her in death were her parents, her siblings, her husband, an infant son, “Little” Floyd and other family members in Missouri.