Margaret Florence Curtis

Margaret Florence Somdahl was born on January 2, 1937 in rural Audubon, MN.  Her dad said she was a New Year’s baby, but the doctor didn't look at his watch until after midnight.  She was the daughter of Roy Melvin and Alice (Syverson) Somdahl.    She grew up near Richwood, MN and attended a country school where she and her siblings literally had to “walk uphill both ways”.  She graduated from Detroit Lakes High School.  While attending high school, she worked at St. Mary's Hospital.  It was there, with the direction of some of the nuns, she decided to further her interest in medicine and became an X-ray Technologist.

At a bowling banquet in the spring of 1959, she met a smooth-talking salesman named Richard James Curtis.  They were married on July 18, 1959 in Callaway, MN.  She and Dick lived a number of years in the Twin Cities area, before making their way back to Detroit Lakes.  Margaret returned to St. Mary's and became an instructor and head of the X-ray Department.  The family moved to Perham, before she and Dick built a home near Vergas. Dick died on August 20, 1983.

In the years following Dick's death, Margaret spent a lot of happy summers on Cotton Lake, with her longtime companion Wally Casler.  She continued her work at St. Mary's until retiring in 1993.  However, retirement wasn't for her, so she took a job as the office manager of the Senior Citizen Center in Detroit Lakes.  While she enjoyed her time there, eventually health issues forced her to retire.

Margaret was an active member of Zion Lutheran Church while she resided in Detroit Lakes.  She served on various boards with a focus on evangelism. Later, she would move to West Fargo where she joined St. Andrew Lutheran Church. At Heritage Square she became a proud member of the “Fab Five”.

She was a great seamstress.  Her daughter Cheryl would often wake up to a new outfit, which Mom had stayed up till the wee hours of the morning completing.  She enjoyed knitting and crocheting, especially kitchen dishcloths and hotpads.  As a lifetime fan of the Kentucky Derby, it should come as no surprise that Margaret loved hats. Margaret was an avid card player, often playing cutthroat Pinnacle with Dick and her son Rich, and thoroughly enjoyed beating anyone foolish enough to challenge her in a game of Cribbage.  She also enjoyed passing on family traditions, such as lefse making, to her grandchildren; even if they couldn’t roll them quite as thin as she could.  Margaret was a talented chef and enjoyed canning jams and preserves, but dilly beans were her specialty.

Being the middle child, Margaret was great about giving her opinion whether you liked it or not.  She wasn't your typical 81 year old grandma as you never knew what she would say next. Right up until her death Margaret Florence Curtis was the life of the party.

She is survived by her daughter, Cheryl Asmund, West Fargo, ND and son Rich (Rosanne) Curtis, East Grand Forks, MN.  Her grandchildren, Beth (Brock) Haugen, Maggie (JD) Livingston, Andy (Jessica) Curtis, Austin Young, Jordan Young and Jacob Curtis.  Her 7 great grandchildren, and a set of twins due very soon, all of whom affectionately refer to her as GG.  Her siblings Barbara (Myles) Flint, Reston, VA, Ruby (Boyd) Sharp, Osage, MN and Ted (Mona) Somdahl, Callaway, MN.

She was preceded in death by her husband Richard, her daughter-in-law Karen Curtis, son-in-law John Asmund, her parents, and her brother Roy Allen Somdahl.

Margaret died Saturday, March 24, 2018, at Sanford Health Palliative Care in Fargo, ND surrounded by her family.

The family would like to thank the wonderful staff of the Palliative Care Unit for taking such great care of her, especially Becky and Mary.

Visitation:   Wednesday, March 28, 2018, 4:30PM – 6:30PM, with a Prayer Service held at 6:30PM, in West Funeral Home Chapel, West Fargo, ND

Funeral Service:   St. Andrew Lutheran Church, West Fargo, on Thursday March 29th at 11:00AM

Burial:  Oak Grove Cemetery, Detroit Lakes, MN

West Funeral Home & Life Tribute Center

www.westfuneralhome.com

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