Sunday's Obituary: Irene Knutson

Irene M. Knutson
(March 30, 1918 - October 24, 2005)

Irene M. Knutson was born on March 30, 1918 in Deuel County, SD the daughter of Martin and Ingeborg (Singsaas) Christianson.  She died on Monday, October 24, 2005 at Brookiview Manor in Brookings at the age of 87.  Irene received her education in rural school in Brookings County, SD.  In 1936, she married Harold Luze in Brookings.  Harold died in 1970.  She was united in marriage to F. Gordon Knutson on June 20, 1976 in Brookings.  Irene was employed at SDSU in Student Housing for 29 years before retiring in 1983.  She was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Brookings, Sons of Norway and Mission Interest.  She enjoyed reading, quilting, sewing, traveling to Alaska and several trips to Norway.  She especially enjoyed spending time with family and friends.  Irene is survived by her husband Gordon of Brookings; two sons Curtis Luze of Brookings, DuWayne Luze of Tacoma, WA; 20 grandchildren; three great grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents, first husband, one daughter Joann Mennis, three brothers Ervin, Ernest and Vernon and four sisters Julia, Thelma, Merle and Alice.

Funeral services 10:30 AM, Thursday, October 27, 2005 First Lutheran Church Brookings, SD Rev. Nyla Schoeld, Officiating.

Visitation: 4PM until 7PM Wednesday Rude's Funeral Home Brookings, SD

Interment: Greenwood Cemetery Brookings, SD



CORRECTION: At the time of Irene's death she had 13 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, and 5 great-great grandchildren.

Follow Friday: Hendricks MN; Collignon-Foley Family

Two sites I've been hovering around lately are the Hendricks Minnesota Family Tree Project and the Collingnon-Foley Family Tree.

Hendricks MN Family Tree Project
http://djwinsness.com/hendricks/index.htm
Hendricks MN is home to my Singsaas and Christianson family lines. The Hendricks MN Family Tree Project seeks to connect the families of 31 original settlers of Hendricks. All of the original settlers came from the same town, Singsaas, Norway.  It is believed all 31 were descended from Per Persen Vinsnes (b. 1638).  While my ancestors don't appear to be amongst the original settlers, they were from Singsaas, Norway and eventually ended up in Hendricks.


Collignon-Foley Family Tree
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=kcf&id=I01010
This is my Christianson family line. I've been in contact with cousin Karen Foley in the past, but have lost touch in recent years. When I go looking for Christianson family information, I usually end up looking at Karen's work of art here. Thanks, Karen!

Sunday's Obituary: Norma Sharp

Norma Ann Sharp

August 23, 1937 - May 7, 2012

Mrs. Norma Ann Sharp, 74, of Philadelphia, MS died Monday, May 7, 2012 at Neshoba County Nursing Home in Philadelphia, MS.

She was a native of Brookings, SD and had been a resident of Philadelphia, MS since 1973. She formerly worked at Nemanco, Inc. and Wells-Lamont Corp. in Philadelphia, MS. Mrs. Sharp was Methodist by faith. She was a classic example of an army wife. She raised their family while her husband served in the military for 24 years, including tours in both Korea and Vietnam, until his retirement.

She was preceded in death by her husband, James (Jim) Sharp; parents, Pete and Hazel Carter; and brother, Larry (Bubby) Carter.

Survivors include daughters, Lori Sharp Vowell (Brian) of Columbus, MS and Angela Sharp Kelly (Jerry) of Philadelphia, MS; sons, Danny Sharp (Sharon) of Atlanta, GA, Joe Sharp (Donna) of Philadelphia, MS and Randy Sharp of Philadelphia, MS; grandchildren, Brent Vowell, Katie Vowell, Gunner Vowell, Mariah Kelly, Randi Kelly, Shondae Walker, Megan Day, Chris Sharp, Chad Sharp, Mandy Sharp, Colby Sharp, and Jaden Sharp; great-grandchild, Destiny Sharp; sisters, Dee Hust of Las Vegas, NV, Jeannette Crapser of Brookings, SD and Kay Cox of Brown City, MI; and numerous nieces, nephews and their families.

Obituary from McClain-Hays Funeral Home

Happy Easter!

Okay, normally I wouldn't do this, but I'm about to post one of those emails that gets forwarded over and over again.  I've convinced myself that since I've waited a year and am posting it to my blog, it isn't the same as forwarding the message via email.  Right?  Anyway, I think it's kind of cute, so here goes ...

All I need to know, I learned from the Easter Bunny:

• Don't put all your eggs in one basket. 
•  Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
• There's no such thing as too much candy.
• All work and no play can make you a basket case.
• A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.
• Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
• Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
• Some body parts should be floppy.
• Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans.
• Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.
• The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.
• To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.
• The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

Have a Hoppity Good Easter!!

Haktor Olsen Wicks Lineage

I received a nice tip via email recently in regards to the Wicks family line.  A Mr. Glen Larson has suggested I look up "Arnes Telles Slekt" to find out more about the Haktor Olsen Vika family.  Glen says that the Arnes Telles Slekt tree contains the complete line of Haktor Olsen, which indicates he has 10 children by three wives.

Here's one link I found:
http://www.tjellbjorn.net/phpgedview/indilist.php?surname=VIKA&ged=tjelle.ged

Just browsing through it quickly, it sure looks like the same line as our Haktor T Wicks and Haktor H Wicks line to me.  (See posts on Connecting Haktor to Haktor.) I'll have to take some time and go through it more thoroughly though.

Air Force names building after fallen Osprey pilot - Randy Voas

Randell Voas, a cousin in the Glenn/Dempster family line has been honored by the Air Force for his service.  Here's the beginning of the story from the U.S. Army  news:

FORT RUCKER, Ala. (Mar. 1, 2012) -- Maj. Randell D. Voas lost his life in a CV-22 crash in Afghanistan on April 9, 2010, but his legacy will now continue to influence future Aviators in the Air Force's 23rd Flying Training Squadron at Fort Rucker.

On Feb. 24, the squadron named its new consolidated operations center after Voas who was in the Army for eight years before transitioning to the Air Force where he flew missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and served as an instructor pilot for the 23rd FTS at Fort Rucker.

"I'm challenged to find a better name to put on this building," said Col. James Cardoso, commander of the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland AFB, N.M., during his dedication ceremony address.

All Air Force helicopter pilots start their rotary-wing training with the 23rd FTS at Fort Rucker. "As we teach them the skills, it's appropriate that we also show them what they're going to be a part of," he said, adding that many of the instructors and evaluators currently with the 23rd FTS were trained or mentored by Voas.

He went on to say Voas was a "decorated combat Aviator, a quiet professional and a humble guy" who loved to instruct and pass on the lessons he'd learned during his time on the battlefield.

During the ceremony, much applause was given for each person on a list of honored guests, but the loudest applause was given to the members of the Voas Family. The late major's wife, Jill, and their two children, Maddeline and Mitchell, were there along with several other Family members.

Jo Kallemeyn, the mother of Voas, said the ceremony was "quite an honor for Randy's memory."

"The main thing I want and that our Family wants is that he's not forgotten," she said.

Kallemeyn said her son loved to fly. He was given the Cheney Award in 2003, an annual award given by the Air Force for an act of valor or self-sacrifice in a humanitarian interest, but she said his response was to say he was just doing his job. "But, he did it very well," she added.

"I have learned so much about Randy since this happened. He was my son, and we had good conversations, but I just never really understood the depth of his involvement and what he meant to so many people," she said.  
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