Pauline Pederson

Pauline J. Pederson, age 91, of Glendive, passed away on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at her rural home west of Glendive, with family by her side. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Monday, June 30, 2008 at the Zion Lutheran Church in Glendive with Pastor David Aaseng officiating. Interment will be in the Dawson Memorial Cemetery in Glendive. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive is entrusted with arrangements. Pauline was born on March 29, 1917 at the family home in rural Arnegard, North Dakota, one of six children born to John and Pauline "Polly" (Herssud) Torstenson. Pauline received her early education at a rural school. She was united in marriage to Clifford Pederson on October 18, 1945. They worked at the Lloyd Stevens farm by Arnegard and at the ranch located down by the Little Missouri for years. In 1956, Pauline and her husband purchased their present ranch located west of Glendive. Her husband preceded her in death in 1987. Pauline spent the past few years living with her daughter in Rapid City, South Dakota. She has battled terminal cancer for the past nine months and in the later stages wanted to return to the place she so loved so she could enjoy the peace, beauty and serenity of her home. Pauline was a private person. She loved quietness and enjoyed spending her time reading and playing Whist. She also loved to tell stories of her childhood and living life through the Depression years. She loved her family and grandchildren. She will be remembered for being a good cook, growing a big garden and beautiful flowers. She was the "rock" in the family and was always there if her children or grandchildren needed anything. Pauline was a longtime member of the Moose Lodge and had been a 4-H leader. Pauline was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Arthur and Henry Torstenson; her sister, Helen Thompson; infant son, Alan and sons, Kenneth and Dennis Pederson. Survivors include her daughter, Helen Skogas of Rapid City, South Dakota; two sisters, June Anderson and Adeline Nording and sister-in-law, Elva Torstenson, all of Watford City, North Dakota; ten grandchildren, Thad Pederson of Great Falls, Montana, Kyle Pederson of Bozeman, Montana, Angie Hagen of Glendive and their mother, Stella Pederson of Glendive, Debbie O'Dell of Sheridan, Wyoming, Nancy Grover, Pam Hilling and Loni O'Dell, all of Sheridan, Wyoming, Kenneth Pederson Jr. of Gillette, Wyoming and their mother, Della Pederson of Sheridan, Wyoming, Lori Madsen of Miles City, Montana and Kevin Skogas of Baker, Montana; 24 great grandchildren and four great great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews. Celebrant Service: “Have I told you the story about…” That is the way Pauline would begin one of her many stories to her family. Pauline was a storyteller. Often times, one story would lead to another and finally she would tie it all together with “anyway…” And it is pretty certain you heard Pauline’s stories more than once. Ninety-one years allows for many stories and today we remember Pauline from the family’s stories of this strong woman. Pauline’s daughter, Helen Skogas, called Pauline the “rock” of the family because Pauline was always there if her children or grandchildren needed anything. Pauline was born, raised and educated in rural Arnegard, North Dakota. The rural school Pauline attended was two and a half miles from her home and she walked there every day in all kinds of weather, and Pauline always wore a dress. Pauline was a good student. She loved to read and finished eight years in seven, but after that, her formal education ended and she had to quit school to stay home and help with the work on the farm. During the Depression, there was no work for the men and her father had to leave the area to find work. One winter, her father got a job in Williston delivering ice. He loaded the family up and they all went to live in Williston. Pauline remembered that as a good experience as they lived in a house with indoor plumbing and she was happy for her mother. The only down side was having to give away the family dog. To return to the farm in the spring, Pauline’s family had to go by wagon, then take a ferry across the river. There was a white house to stay at enroute, and this is where she first met her future husband, Clifford. While at the “white house”, a couple men with guns showed up and Pauline heard her father call them outlaws. Pauline didn’t get much sleep that night with those “outlaws” around. The next day when leaving she noticed her father talking to the “outlaws” and as she got into the wagon, one of them, Clifford Pederson, tickled her under her chin. Clifford was quite a bit older than Pauline and she later met him again through her brother. An interesting ending to this story was that when they reached the home place, the family dog returned. Throughout life Pauline was a hard and steady worker. She didn’t have many jobs away from home, but Grandson Kyle Pederson remembers a story his grandmother told. 14 year old Pauline, and her sister hired out one fall to pick potatoes. Their first day on the job, all the other pickers went on strike. Because it was their first day, Pauline and her sister hadn’t done any work to be unhappy about, so they went out into the fields and began picking potatoes. Besides being hard work, Pauline and her sister had to endure the striking workers throwing potatoes at them from the sides of the field. When Pauline was in her twenties, she began seeing Clifford who had become a friend of her brother’s. Clifford was living and working farms and ranches in the area. Pauline’s mother was a bit skeptical about Clifford, but when Clifford rode up one winter day when the temperature was thirty below, Pauline’s mother made the comment to Pauline that she didn’t think he had come just for her good cooking, and he must be serious. He was serious, and Clifford and Pauline were soon married. The early years of their marriage were spent with Clifford working for farms in the Arnegard, North Dakota area, building a herd of cattle and looking for a farm of their own. They finally accomplished their dream, purchasing a ranch with a large home, west of Glendive, where they would raise their three children and spend the rest of their lives. The first seven years on the new place were dry years. Pauline would go to town and sell cream from the cows to make grocery money to feed her family. Food was always a big part of the budget in Pauline’s home, she was an excellent cook and made sure everyone ate well and got plenty. Clifford’s and Pauline’s son, Dennis and his wife, Stella lived and worked on the farm also. Their children, Thad, Angie and Kyle, spent a great deal of time with their grandparents. After school, the first place they would go was to Grandma Pauline’s house. They would come in the house and wash their hands, but not in the bathroom, as you couldn’t get grandma’s pink towels dirty, and then Grandma would have a cookie and pop for them. Kyle remembers Grandma always giving him four cookies, because she had observed that when Kyle left with the cookies to go home, Kyle only got to eat his if the dog had cookies also. Two cookies for the dog; two cookies for Kyle. Pauline’s Sunday dinner of roast beef and mashed potatoes was a favorite of the family’s. Grandson Kevin Skogas especially enjoyed his grandmother’s pancakes. Thad just shakes his head remembering all the food and goodies his grandmother would have when he would come in after doing chores or working with his dad. It was difficult to escape without having something to eat, and generally she expected you to eat a lot. Pauline loved her home and she took very good care of it. She was a spotless housekeeper; especially clean were her windows. Everyone got to help make them sparkle. Kyle has vivid memories of his grandma wanting the flies that would get in the house killed, but you weren’t allowed to swat them on the wall and get bloody, smashed flies all over. No, Kyle was supposed to swat them out of the air to kill them. And the heart of her home was her kitchen. It was where you would find a busy Pauline. If you were outside, you could look up and most probably catch her looking out the windows, keeping a finger on what was happening on the farm. Night or day, if the family saw the porch light on, they knew to stop in because Pauline wanted to talk to them about something. Pauline did not leave her home very often. Twice a week she would go to town and get her hair done, shop and have lunch. She would eat at Doc ‘n Eddy’s and loved to spin the wheel and would not leave before the drawing, because she did not want to miss a chance to win. Pauline was very conscious of her appearance and always dressed well and looked good. She loved the color pink. Her hair was never out of place. Daughter-in-law, Stella, commented that Pauline could get out of bed looking good and must have known how to sleep just so, as to not muss up her hair. She had beautiful skin, and was a faithful user of Jafra products and Dove soap. Pauline loved animals. The two dogs Dennis’ family had over the years, always slept under her kitchen window. She always enjoyed the farm kittens, and although she didn’t ride the horses, Angie remembers bringing the horses up to Pauline’s house and her grandma feeding them sugar lumps and putting lilacs in their halters. All the cows had names. While living with Helen, Pauline and Helen’s cat, Rascal bonded. Rascal is very particular about who he associates with but every day when Pauline would sit in the recliner to watch her favorite TV show, the Price is Right, the cat sat with her. After Clifford died, Pauline had written some thoughts about him in his funeral book. One was that you could tell a lot about a person by the way they treated animals. Pauline had observed Clifford’s kind and caring ways with animals. Pauline’s garden was her pride and joy. It was immense, and she had a particular order to it. Every year, Pauline planted each of the vegetables in a certain place. Everyone helped weed and water it and her harvests were bountiful. Pauline did a great deal of canning. Pauline would enter her produce and baked goods every year in the fair, and that was an important event to Pauline. Pauline spent years as a 4-H leader and passed on much of her knowledge to the younger generations. Unable to garden these past years, she made the comment to Helen that gardening was the one thing she really missed doing. But Pauline had a green thumb with all kinds of plants, and she continued to have a variety of house-plants even after moving to Helen’s house. Pauline found pleasure in simple things. She loved to have the great-grandchildren, Justus and Paige, make animal sounds, which she would giggle at. Whenever she would hear the song “Don’t Let My Babies Grow To Be Cowboys”, she would smile and remark, “ too late, now.” Over the years, Pauline had a close relationship with all her grandchildren. She was of course close to Dennis and Stella’s children because with them living on the ranch, she saw them every day and was a big part of their lives, but Pauline also knew the grandchildren who lived away. Her son Kenneth and daughter Helen’s families visited and stayed in touch by phone, and the grandchildren would come summers to spend time on the farm. Granddaughter, Pam Hilling, remembers the close relationship her father, Kenneth, had with his mother. Kenneth died 14 months ago and Pauline was there when he died. The last time Pam saw her grandmother, Pauline talked about how wonderful it was that Kenneth had died with all his family around him. Pauline seemed to find it comforting to think of being surrounded by family at your time of death. Family was most important to Pauline. Pauline’s oldest grandchild, Debbie O’Dell wrote these words to her grandmother: “My Dear, Sweet Grandmother, I love you so very much. You’ve always been such an important part of my life. All the summers I was so fortunate to spend with you when I was little. I remember the desserts you would sneak to me when I would be sent to bed for being in trouble. Even after I grew up and was living in Germany, and wanted some pinwheel cookies, you made sure you sent, not just a dozen, but at least 12 dozen. As an adult I’ve always known I could count on you. You were always there with an “I love you” and an “I miss you too.” “The last few weeks of your life when we were looking at photo albums and you were telling us who they were, was a precious time. I am so fortunate to have had you as my grandmother. I love you and miss you. Debbie” Granddaughter Nancy Grover wrote these words about her grandmother: “I remember my grandma as being so beautiful and smelling so good, so I asked her what she used. She said Noxema and Dove soap. She always said I love you, with a smile. She loved her family so much. I remember my Dad called Grandma every night to say goodnight. I remember Grandma had lots of cookies and candy for us in the candy cupboard. Grandma got up early to make us pancakes and sausage for breakfast, then started in on the next meal. Grandma always had a big garden and lots of kittens. She loved to play cards and hated to lose. When we had to leave to go home, she always made sandwiches for the trip home and when we would leave, she would wave until we were out of sight. One of the last times I spoke with Grandma, she took my hand and told me stories she remembered about me when I was little. I will miss you grandma, you meant the world to me. Love, Nancy” All of the grandchildren including Loni O’Dell, Kevin, Lori and even the great-grandchildren will remember the bottomless candy drawer and playing cards, and the stories. Granddaughter, Lori Madsen, recalls one stay at the ranch when her brother Kevin got into trouble with Grandma. To help Kevin out, Lori told Grandma Pauline that she, Lori and Kevin were going to walk home to Miles City. Lori wondered if they would get there yet that day. Grandma Pauline didn’t think so. Lori asked if Grandma thought they would get to Miles City tomorrow sometime. No, Grandma didn’t think so. Lori wasn’t getting the answers from Grandma she wanted, so she just took Kevin out to play. Pauline wasn’t above pulling a prank or two. One night Angie was sleepwalking and ended up in her grandmother’s living room. The clock on the mantle chimed and woke Angie, scaring her, and when Pauline came out to see what was going on, she just bundled Angie up and took her to bed with her and Clifford. The next morning she called Dennis and said she had a dream about Angie and would Dennis go check to make sure Angie was in her room. Dennis assured his mother that of course Angie was in her room, where would she be? Pauline insisted and finally, to satisfy his mother, Dennis checked Angie’s room. Finding Angie gone, Dennis got upset and worried, but finally his mother told him where Angie was, but she had gotten the reaction she wanted. Pauline did have a bit of ESP. When Thad was in college, he rolled his pick-up. He was not injured but he didn’t call his parents right away to tell them about his mishap. The day after this happened Pauline had a feeling and told Dennis that she was worried because she knew Thad had had an accident, but did not think he was hurt. She thought Dennis should check on Thad. Pauline’s intuition was correct. Over the years, Pauline had premonitions about the deaths of relatives, although she said she did not have any such warning about Dennis’ accident and death. Perhaps the greatest tragedies of Pauline’s life were all three sons preceding her in death. First she lost her infant son, Alan. Then she lost Dennis to a sudden accident. Pauline was never the same after that. And then she lost Kenneth to illness. What a difficult burden for a mother to bear. Especially for one whose family was her life. Over her 91 years of living, Pauline has given and received much love. With her stories, she has given you history and shared her life lessons with you. Pauline has been a strong presence in your lives and she will be missed. Her touch on the lives of her family has been immense and at the end of today’s committal service for Pauline, her family will place their handprints, their fingerprints, their touch on Pauline’s casket to mingle together and honor Pauline’s great commitment to all of her family during her lifetime. Pauline Pederson is greatly loved and will be greatly missed. Pauline Peterson Tribute Video from Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home on Vimeo.

Pauline Pederson

March 29, 1917 - June 30, 2008

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Pauline Pederson

March 29, 1917 - June 30, 2008

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

365 Days of Grief Support