Audrey Froiland, of Dawson, died Friday, January 10, 2014 at the Johnson Memorial Home in Dawson at the age of 97.
Visitation will be held on Friday, January 17 at the Hanson & Dahl Funeral Home in Dawson from 5-7:00 PM with a prayer service at 7:00 PM.
Private services and interment will be held at a later date.
LaVonne Audrey Froiland was born August 15, 1916 to Louis and Anne (Jerde) Moe in Dawson, Minnesota. As a child, Audrey recalled walking the railroad tracks east of Dawson to her country school and her family’s many good neighbors and friends. At Dawson High School, she played basketball and graduated as the valedictorian of her class. She attended a University of Minnesota Depression-era college in Appleton, MN, where she also played basketball, before returning to Dawson to work as a bookkeeper for the Dawson Oil Company. On February 1, 1939, the Reverend G.S. Froiland united Audrey in marriage to his youngest son, Hjalmar “Sonny” Froiland. On their return from a honeymoon in New Mexico, they settled on a farm near Milan Minnesota. Here their three oldest daughters Anne, Mary, and Irene were born. In 1944 they bought the farm near Dawson where they added son H. Bjorn “Butch” and daughter Rachel to the family.
The farm became a welcoming place for friends and relatives alike. There was always room at the table for anyone who dropped by. She was a good cook, loved food, and loved feeding people. Her hospitality demonstrated her warm heart and her genuine interest in people. Audrey found people as fascinating as the books she loved to read. She had a nose for stories and drew them out of people. She also loved to write. Audrey researched and wrote both local history and family history, history being another kind of story. She wrote wonderful letters and communicated with many friends and family, using during the earlier years a Parker ink pen that Sonny gave to her. Many people have known the joy of being on the receiving end of a well-expressed letter that was, like her, warm, observant, and thoughtful. Those who knew her well also know she had a sharp intellect and quick dry wit. She could deliver a zinger as well as anyone, an ability she retained to her last days. She enjoyed laughing long and hard and found humor even in ribald comedy, much to the (supposed) chagrin of her husband!
Audrey loved music, as did her extended family, and music was always a part of reunions and parties at the farm. That tradition continued as their children had their friends congregate at the farm, many who became life-long friends of the whole family. She was an accomplished and creative seamstress, especially interested in redesign of existing garments and patterns, often adding handwork detail. Norwegian family roots and migration were of great interest to her, and her genealogy research resulted in close connections with family still in Norway. In their 80s, Sonny and Audrey went to Norway to meet their relatives, hear and share their stories, and experience the mountains and fjords of their ancestors. That trip was the culmination of a long history of travel across Canada, Mexico, and almost every one of the United States. Part of each summer was spent “at the lake.” After Sonny’s death in 2008, Audrey moved to the Johnson Memorial Care Center, where she has lived the past five years.
She is survived by her five children: Anne (Marlin) Paradis, Mary (Les Puett) Froiland, Irene Matz, Bjorn/Butch (Mary) Froiland, Rachel (Rick) Quenemoen, 11 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren. Her sister Irene Johnson and brother Wayne Moe also survive her. She was preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, Sonny, her parents Louis and Anne, her son-in-law Duane Matz, and great-grandbaby David Allen Matz.