Myrtle O Stensland

Myrtle Olivia (Olson) Stensland passed away August 30, 2014 at Diamond Willow Assisted Living in Alexandria, MN. She was 103 years old. A funeral service will be held at 11 AM Friday, September 12, 2014 at First Lutheran Church in Alexandria. Interment will follow in the Peace Cemetery at Barrett, MN. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 PM Thursday at the Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria. Additional visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at church. The third oldest of twelve children, she was born February 24, 1911, to Guttorm and Christine (Skare) Olson on the family farm just north of Barrett, MN. She grew up in a loving family of parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Myrtle was baptized into the Christian faith at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Barrett and was confirmed in the Norwegian language. The confirmands were required to recite the catechism in Norwegian and memorize a hymn. Hers was "Idag er Naaden's Tid" (Today is the Day of Grace). Myrtle attended school in Barrett, walking the three miles to and from the school in all seasons. She was a very good student and skipped two grades on the way to graduation. One of her favorite teachers taught Latin, which later influenced her to study classical languages in college. Her father Guttorm was an avid reader who inspired her lifelong love of books. Following high school, she enrolled in Park Region College in Fergus Falls, MN, for two years, 1927-29. Possessing a lovely soprano voice, she became a member of the Park Region College choir. She then enrolled in Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, where she graduated in 1931 with a B.A. degree. While there she sang in the Concordia Choir and was a member of the college's Women's Double Trio, a group of classmates who traveled in the summer to give concerts in area churches in Minnesota and North and South Dakota. She carried on her love of music throughout her life by playing for weddings, funerals, singing solos and directing church and high school choirs. In spite of graduating from college during the Great Depression, she was able to secure a teaching job in Halstad, MN. She taught Latin and many other subjects. She also directed the Halstad Male Chorus where she met Oscar Gerhard Stensland, a rural mail carrier and widower with five children. They were married June 14, 1936. In 1943 their daughter Julie Christine was born. Myrtle took a break from teaching but soon resumed her career. She had a flair for languages and went on to secure another major in Spanish. She taught school in Halstad; Barrett, MN; Kensington, MN; Sweet Home, OR; and Elbow Lake, MN. She retired from teaching in 1975 after 17 years at Elbow Lake. Myrtle and Oscar moved to Alexandria in 1976 where they enjoyed making many new friends. They became members of First Lutheran Church, and Myrtle was an active member of the Mission Quilters, which used one of her many needlework skills. She sold her tatted snowflakes at the Creative Coop, and made Christmas cards every year using some of her creative tatted motifs. In spite of some health setbacks, polio in the 1950s and colon cancer in 1975, she remained intellectually and physically vigorous well past the age of 100 years. In 2011 her family held a birthday party in honor of her centenary, attended by a large number of friends and relatives. She especially enjoyed hearing from so many former students who remembered her with cards and letters. When asked about her secret to longevity, she would always say, "Eat lutefisk!" Myrtle is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Julie and Patrick Andrews; her stepson and wife, George and Virginia Stensland; six step grandchildren, four step great-grandchildren; brothers, Harold, Gary, Orvin and Walter; sisters, Borgne Parker and Solveig Dahl; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Oscar; parents, Guttorm and Christine Olson; brothers, Orvin, Joe and Hilmey; sister, Gunhild; and four step children, Ramona, Erling and Warner Stensland and Bernice Stensland Harvey.

Myrtle O Stensland

February 24, 1911 - August 30, 2014