Solomonson, Opal A. (1911-2008)

SOLOMONSON, WILLAND, CALGAARD, SORBO, GULLIXSON, PALM, MATSON, CROCKETT, NELSEN, GROENEWOLD, BODDE, TAPPS

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 12/8/2012 at 12:21:38

Opal A. Solomonson
(December 14, 1911 - June 19, 2008)

Opal A. Solomonson, 96, of Lake Mills, Iowa, died Thursday, June 19, 2008, at the Lake Mills Care Center in Lake Mills, Iowa.

Opal Alpha (Willand) Solomonson was born in Worth County on December 14, 1911, to Wilhelm (Willy) and Clara (Calgaard) Willand, who farmed near Joice, Iowa. She was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith, learning the Catechism and many hymns and prayers in Norwegian first. One of eight children, Opal helped on the farm and grew up with a fondness for music, learning to play the accordion from her father, who assembled a family band of sorts to play for neighborhood gatherings and parties. Though she had only an eighth-grade education, Opal always enjoyed reading (until recent years when her eyesight failed), and she was always ready for a good game of Scrabble or Boggle.

In June of 1936 at Sion Lutheran Church east of Lake Mills, Opal married John Solomonson, a fun-loving soul whom she had met years earlier at a skating rink. They farmed on the original Solomonson family farm until 1982 when they built a home in Lake Mills. Opal lived there until she moved to the Lake Mills Care Center in February of 2008 following an accidental fall at the house.

She spent most of her adult years as a farm wife, mother, and church volunteer. She kept her focus on her faith and her family. Indeed, she took great joy from her involvement in church and shared most of her active volunteer work at North Prairie Lutheran Church where she participated and held office in the circles, the Ladies Aid Society, the Women’s Missionary Federation, the Women of the ELCA, and other groups. She also taught Sunday school for many years and contributed to making hundreds of quilts and layettes for Lutheran World Relief—an expression of her great love of mission work. In recent years, she worshipped at Salem Lutheran Church, participating in activities as she was able. Through more than ten years of employment at Deluxe, she had also provided extra support for all three of her children to attend Waldorf College, an institution that remained dear to her heart for decades.

Opal also loved gardening, particularly caring for hundreds of gladioli and hybrid irises—many of whose blooms were placed on the North Prairie altar on Sunday mornings. But no flower was as beautiful to Opal as a rose—especially a red rose, and she raised many a rosebush. When she and John visited children and grandchildren over the years, they would often arrive with fresh-cut flowers, frozen corn, and homemade bread, jam, applesauce, cookies, bars, and lefse—another sign of her unconditional and unwavering love for family.

Opal was preceded in death by her husband of sixty-five years, John Solomonson; her sister, Mildred (and husband Gilman) Sorbo; her brothers: Walter, Orin, and Stanley (Bud) Willand; and her sisters- and brothers-in-law: Cathryn and Andrew Gullixson, Carol and Harry Palm, Evelyn and Oliver Matson, and Milford and Helen Solomonson.

Opal is survived by three children: Owen Solomonson, of Lake Mills, Iowa (primary caregiver in recent years), Sonia Solomonson, of Streamwood, Illinois, and Cheryl (and Larry) Crockett, of Eagan, Minnesota; six grandchildren: Randy (and Melinda) Nelsen, of New Braunfels, Texas, Peter (and Sandi) Groenewold, of Appleton, Wisconsin, Joel (and Susie) Groenewold, of Hinsdale, Illinois, Aaron (and Sierra) Groenewold of Phoenix, Arizona, Kelsey Crockett, of Byrdstown, Tennessee, and Carmen Crockett, of Eagan, Minnesota; eight great-grandchildren, (all Groenewolds): Peter and Sandi’s daughter, Olivia; Joel and Susie’s children, Spencer, Noah, Gretchen, Elizabeth, Maggie, and Douglas; and Aaron and Sierra’s daughter, Payton; her sisters, Esther Bodde and Myrtle Tapps; her brother, Clarence Willand, and his wife, Fern; and her sisters-in-law, Ellnora Willand and Carol Willand; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be 10:30 AM, Monday, at Salem Lutheran Church in Lake Mills, Iowa, with Pastor W. Paul Weeg officiating.
Visitation will be 4:00-7:00 PM, Sunday evening, at the Mittelstadt Funeral Home and again one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday.
Burial will take place at North Prairie Cemetery in rural Scarville, Iowa.
Memorials can made to Hospice of North Iowa; Waldorf College, Lutheran World Relief, or the Salem Window Fund.

**Please contribute to a beautiful hardbound book about Opal A. Solomonson. It'll take 5 minutes: 1. Visit www.memorypress.com/start 2. Type in "opal" as the ID and "solomonson" as the password. 3. Contribute a favorite memory, photo, or tribute.

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