Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 271209
Title: Mildred Simonson
Date: 9/8/1930-6/18/2024
Creator:
Inscription/Marks: 9/8/1930
Summary: Mildred “Billie” Simonson, 93, peacefully passed away June 18, 2024, in Portland, OR, with family by her side. Graveside services were held July 10, 2024, at Cherry Cemetery in Arnegard, ND, with Pastor Matt Rolfson officiating Mildred - or Billie as she was affectionately called her entire life - was born September 8, 1930, to Ludvik and Anne Mork on her family’s homestead outside of Arnegard. As the youngest child in a close-knit family, Billie developed a close bond with her elder brother and each of her sisters, which she enjoyed for the duration of her life. After graduating from Watford City High School, Billie attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, for a year before moving to Portland to attend Emanuel Hospital School of Nursing. She graduated in 1952, specializing in obstetrics nursing until she herself became a mother. It was in Portland where she was reintroduced to Alvin Simonson, also a transplant from Watford City, ND area, through their sisters, Evelyn and Bernice. They became engaged on Christmas Eve of 1954, and later married at Central Lutheran Church in Portland on November 11, 1955, during a surprise snowstorm. Billie and Al had two daughters, Linda and Julie, and were happily married for 65 years. Every summer, Billie and Al would take the girls on an annual visit to North Dakota to spend time with their family who remained back there and share the farm life that they had grown up on and loved; and once Al retired, they would make the trip back twice a year for planting and harvesting. Many beautiful memories were created during these summers that their daughters carry with them to this day. Billie’s most cherished role was that as wife and mother (and later grandmother and great-grandmother), and no one gave her greater joy than her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandsons. She always made time for them, and they never left the room without feeling her affection and warmth. If you ever had the good fortune of visiting Billie, you knew she always had a spread of homemade baked goods and a fresh pot of coffee ready to serve. Some of her granddaughters’ fondest memories are of learning to make lefse and coffeecake, and getting to enjoy her peach sauce, pear sauce, or a warm serving of her special rice. Billie also loved to crochet, listen to classical music, and had been a huge fan of the Portland Trail Blazers since their start in Portland, often listening to the games in her later years. Billie is survived by her daughters, Linda (Greg) Mirecki and Julie (John) Kowitz; granddaughters, Kayla (Kyle) Kilpatrick, Lauren (Tyler) Dean, Kendall (Joseph) DiGiovanni, Margaret (Frank) Kowitz, and Madison Kowitz; and two great-grandsons, Noah and Carter Kilpatrick. Billie was preceded in death by her husband, Al; her parents; her brothers, Arnold and Ludvik; and sisters, Marwyll, Evelyn, Lila and Solveig.
Red ID: FND_I_78698 Image ID: 511342 Image Notes: FND001 271209

Collection: FND001 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Date: -

Summary: The North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program is sponsored by the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. The life stories of deceased North Dakotans are featured in an archvied collection. Current partners in the project are Eastgate Funeral & Cremation Services, Bismarck Evans Funeral Homes, Carrington and New Rockford Everson-Coughlin Funeral Home, Williston Fulkerson Funeral Home, Tioga Fulkerson Funeral Home, Watford City Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Williston Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck Springan Stevenson Funeral Home, Stanley Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson These funeral homes provide recent obituaries to the Foundation, where staff and volunteers format, edit and archive each memorial. The memorials are posted, and copies are sent to the family for their input and approval. The listing currently features more than 13,000 memorials, and is constantly updated as new memorials and histories are received.

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