Ann's Obituary

Here is the obituary, from the Fargo Forum (OK, OK - I switched out the picture...) :

Ann A. Geiszler

Ann Adeline (Dravland Kuehn) Geiszler, 83, loving mother, teacher, mentor, karaoke queen, and beautiful lady, died peacefully in her sleep on Saturday, May 8, 2010, at Eventide Lutheran Home in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Ann was born January 13, 1927, in Bottineau, North Dakota, to Jonas and Theresa (Utgaard) Dravland. She grew up on the family homestead near Carbury and graduated from Bottineau High School. She received her teaching certificate from Minot State in 1944 and taught in a one-room country school in the foothills of the Turtle Mountains.

She treasured early memories of Grandpa Ole holding her on his knee calling her “Lis (little) Anna,” his blessing for enduring the pain of losing his wife Anna a year before Ann was born. Ann loved to recount the Norwegian stories Grandpa Ole would tell and understood the tales even though they were told in Norwegian. She also told of making her favorite Christmas goodies, lefse, fatteman, and pinwheel cookies with her mama. Those traditions she carried on with her children and grandchildren.

Ann married Walter Kuehn in 1946 and they operated grocery stores in Antler and Granville, North Dakota, until Walt’s death in 1960. After Walt’s death, Ann’s brother, Vernon, helped her locate a job with Concordia College in Moorhead, and she moved to the big city to start a new life with her three boys, Jack, Dan, and Herbert. She worked at Concordia as a secretary and bookkeeper for 29 years, retiring in 1989.

In 1962 Ann married Raymond Geiszler and she embraced as her own his three children, Raymond Elroy, Lorray, and Raney. Together Ann and Ray had one child, Dina Rae. The children of that “yours, mine, and ours” family are blessed with wonderful memories of a truly caring and loving parentage. Ray died in March of 1998.

Ann was again alone, but as all who knew her know, she was never down and out. Ann loved life and all it has to offer. Her faith in God, her love of family, and her joy of living were an inspiration to all who knew her. Never idle, she volunteered for over 30 years bringing songs, smiles, and love to those staying at Eventide, the Fairmont, and The Evergreens.

Ann was very outgoing and her favorite thing was spending time with her children, grandchildren, and family. (Remember being bounced on Ann’s knee listening to “Dita dita Runkin, Hesta hida plunkin......Voof Voof Voof.”?) She loved to play the piano, hold (and attend) card parties, participate in the Young at Heart meetings, do needlework, and – with her daughter Dina – help to organize the annual Dravland family reunions.

During the past 10 years Ann became involved in singing karaoke and subsequently became quite a local attraction. In the Farmers Forum of December 16, 2005, she was featured as the “Karaoke Queen” and was recognized, under the stage name “Annabelle”, as a star singer at many karaoke venues.

The one thing that most stands out in Ann’s life is the way she treated everyone with whom she came in contact. She was truly a loving, caring human being. She could always find the good side of any situation and would brighten even the darkest moments with her spirit and big smile.

Ann was preceded in death by her parents, Jonas and Theresa; husbands, Walter and Raymond; sisters, Alice Sivertson and Viola Sorensen; brothers, Alfred, Ozzie, Theodore, Sydney I, Allan, and Sydney II; two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Ann is survived by her children, Jack and Patricia Kuehn, Fort Worth, TX, Dan Kuehn, Taos, New Mexico, Herbert and Janice Kuehn, Anderson, South Carolina, and Dina Rae and James Loomer, Moorhead; stepchildren, Raymond and Susan Geiszler, Oxnard, CA, Lorray and Reed Jonason, Oakdale, MN, and Raney Geiszler, Moorhead; 22 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren; and her brother, Vernon and Eunice Dravland, Lethbridge, Alberta.

All who knew her will sorely miss her, and one can picture her now, standing on stage in heaven in her lavender dress and her Julia Roberts hat, with St. Peter holding the mike while she belts out the chorus of “Did I Shave My Legs For This?”

Visitation: Wednesday, 4 PM to 7 PM, Korsmo Funeral Chapel, Moorhead

Funeral: Thursday, May 13, 2010, 2 PM, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Moorhead

Online guestbook: www.korsmofuneralservice.com