Art Oscar Mork

Art Mork, of Montevideo, died on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at the Chippewa Co - Montevideo Hospital at the age of 106.  Funeral services will be conducted on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 1:30 PM at Our Saviours Lutheran Church of Baxter with Rev. Diane Odermann officiating.  Interment will be in the church cemetery.  Visitation will be Sunday afternoon from 4 - 6 PM  with a prayer service at 5:45 PM at the Anderson Funeral Home in Montevideo.

Arthur Oscar Mork was born on June 10, 1901 in Baxter Township of Lac qui Parle Co., MN to Anton and Guri (Fremo) Mork.  He was baptized at Our Saviours Lutheran Church of Baxter and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Dawson.  He attended rural schools for a couple of years before going to school in Dawson, graduating from Dawson High School in 1919.  He spent his college years , with the exception of a semester at St. Olaf, at Luther College in Decorah, IA, graduating in 1924.  He was the oldest living alumnus of Luther College. On October 17, 1953 he was united in marriage to Laura Vellekson on the farm of one of her family. He farmed the home farm in Hamlin Township for many years before moving to Montevideo in 1965.  For over 30 years they also had a home and wintered in Riverside, CA.  He was a life-long member of Our Saviours Lutheran Church of Baxter and had been active on the cemetery board, including the planting of the evergreen trees now surrounding the cemetery. He had been a member of the Farm Bureau and was active in the Gudbrandsdalenslaget.  He was a contributor to the Vesterheim Association in Iowa, including a section called the Mork gallery due to his gifts of many Norwegian artifacts and also contributed to the Norwegian American Historical Association at St. Olaf.  He was an active reader and studied and learned many languages and had been a candidate for the MN House of Representatives.

He is survived by his wife Laura; a nephew, Rev. Richard Mork and his wife Barbara of Blaine, MN; a grand nephew, Andy Mork and his wife Dr. Beth and their children Anders and Neenah of Cloquet, MN as well as by many other relatives and friends, including Simen “Simon” Flyen from Eidsvoll, Norway, who lived with Art and Laura while attending Montevideo High School in the 1960's.

He was preceded in death by his parents and by a brother, Milton.