Running, Milldred Lavina (Lund) -- 1910 - 1999

TENNYSON, LUND, RUNNING, PHAIR, HOLDEN, BURMASTER

Posted By: IA GenWeb Volunteer
Date: 6/16/2010 at 08:21:09

Decorah Public Opinion, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 1999.

Mildred Lavina Running

Mildred L. Running, 89, of Decorah, died Monday, Sept. 27, 1999, at the Winneshiek County Memorial Hospital.

Funeral services were held Friday, Oct. 1, at 11 a.m., at the Decorah Lutheran Church, with the Rev. James Glesne officiating.

Music was offered by Marjorie Wharton on organ and Carol Hester on flute. Congregational hymns were chosen by Mildred, "Children of the Heavenly Father," "The King of Love My Savior Is" and "Beautiful Savior."

Scriptures were read by the Revs. M. Franklin Pudas and George F. Wharton.

Casket bearers were William Burmaster, William Holden, Christian Lund, Craig Lund, James Nelstead and John Walski.

Honorary bearers were Harland and Corrinne Nelson, Douglas and Georgiann Eckheart, Liang Chee Wee, Owen and Doris Gangstead, and Alanson and Adeline Lillibridge.

Lunch was provided with the help of Decorah Lutheran's Esther Circle, and Richard and Judy Torgerson and the Luther College community.

Burial was at the Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah. The Fjelstul Funeral Home handled arrangements.

Mildred Lavina (Lund) Running was born March 29, 1910, in Thor, Iowa, the daughter of Jens Christian Lund and Agnes Juanita (Tennyson) Lund.

She attended St. Olaf College in Northfield for two years. Because her father died, she returned to Thor to care for her mother, her brother and three sisters, the youngest of whom was only two years old.

In 1931, she settled the family in Minneapolis, where she worked as a secretary for several flour mills, for McCusick Law Firm and later in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Main Office.

She stayed close to her siblings and worked to provide for their daily needs, for their education and for their upbringing in the church. She took a great interest in the lives of her nieces and nephews who were as children to her.

In 1990, she married the Rev. Orville Running, professor emeritus of art at Luther College. She settled with him in Decorah. Mildred was particularly thankful for the warm welcome she received into the community, the church, the college, and the close-knit group of retired clergy and their wives.

She took part in the lives of her new husband's families. With her attention to detail and her prodigious memory, she was ever aware of their joys and sorrows.

She devoted 60 years of at-home care for her mother. Even following her marriage, Mildred made monthly trips to Minneapolis to spend a day with her.

Mildred enjoyed music. As a high school student at Eagle Grove, she received state contest awards for her singing.

During her two years at St. Olaf, she sang in the St. Olaf Choir under F. Melius Christiansen and was a member of the celebrated 1930 Tour of Norway.

Mildred enjoyed birds as much for their song as for their color. During her professional years, she sang in church choirs.

In Decorah, Mildred appreciated the music opportunities of the church and the college, and rarely missed a music event at Luther College.

Survivors include her husband, Orville Running; one sister, Dorothy Phair of Tucson, Ariz.; 10 nieces and nephews; and 18 grand-nieces and nephews.

Mildred Running was preceded in death by her parents; one brother Christian Jens Lund; and two sisters, Catherine L. Holden and Jeanette L. Burmaster.

Because of Mildred's love for music and her church, the family requests that memorials be given to Decorah Lutheran Church to provide music scores for the senior choir and the bell choir.

Transcribed by an IA GenWeb Volunteer from obituaries found in the Howard-Winneshiek Genealogy Society Library, Cresco, Iowa.