Marian Valain (Johnson) BLAKE

BLAKE, FOGELMAN, SARGENT, JOHNSON, SORENSON

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/18/2007 at 19:54:38

Funeral services for M. Valain Blake, 84, Thor, were held Tuesday, April 6, at the Ullensvang Lutheran Church in Thor, with burial in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Eagle Grove. She died Friday, April 2, 1999, at the Trinity Regional Hospital in Fort Dodge. The Willim Funeral Home of Eagle Grove was in charge of the arrangements, with the Rev. Dale Jenson, pastor of the Ullensvang Lutheran Church of Thor; the Rev. Ellen Brantley, pastor of the United Presbyterian Church at Goldfield; and the Rev. John Elkin of Pocahontas officiating. Casketbearers were Dan Burkhart, Bill Johnson, Jim Johnson, Jim Lothe, Victor Lothe, Jr., and Ron Malchow.

Survivors include one granddaughter, Heather (Mrs. David) Fogelman of Fort Dodge; two great-grandchildren; and a son-in-law, Peter Sargent of Severna Park, MD. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Marion; and a daughter Mary Elizabeth Sargent.

Marian Valain Johnson, daughter of Lars and Nickoline (Sorenson) Johnson, was born Dec. 8, 1914, on the family farm in Norway Township, near Thor. She was raised and educated in the area, graduating from the Eagle Grove High School. Following her education, she worked for her uncle as a photographer's assistant and colorist for a couple of years. In August, 1938, she married the Rev. Marion Blake at Fort Dodge. They served churches in Winona, MN; Foley, MN; and Dows, Lake City, and Wapello, all in Iowa. In 1955 they retired to the family farm near Thor, and served a church in Livermore until 1980. She was a member of women's organizations of both the United Presbyterian Church of Goldfield and the Ullensvang Lutheran CHurch of Thor. She was also a member of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority-Alpha-Alpha Chapter, P.E.O. Chapter EJ of Eagle Grove, Cecilian Music Club of Eagle Grove, the Humboldt County Historical Society, and the Humboldt China Painters Club.

ca April 1999