Evelyn Gladys Halvorson

Evelyn Halvorson, Montevideo died on Friday, November 3, 2023 at Luther Haven Nursing Home at the age of 96.

Funeral services will be held  at 1:00 PM on  Saturday, November 11, 2023 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, rural Montevideo.  Burial will be in the church cemetery.  Visitation with the family will be held starting at 11:30 AM at the church on Saturday.

Evelyn Gladys (Tebben) Halvorson was born on March 19, 1927, the second child of Margaret (Harting) and Henry P. Tebben at their farm southwest of Granite Falls.  Her birth was never officially recorded and she relied on her baptismal record from St. Paul’s in Granite Falls for identification.

Her father died when she was just four months old.  From then on they moved back and forth between her two sets of grandparents until her mother married her stepfather, Henry T. Tebben when Evelyn was eleven.  Life was not easy for her as a child as she was expected to haul corncobs and wood for heat, carry pails of water to the house, lunch to the fields, and help care for her younger cousins who also lived with one set of grandparents and eventually help raise her younger brother and sister including many other chores.

They moved several times after Evelyn’s Mom remarried and eventually ended up in the Maynard area where she graduated from Maynard High School in 1945. During her high school years, WWII was happening and in addition to her brother being in Germany fighting, rationing was going on at home with sugar and gas.  Times were hard.  This helped shape how she lived her life.

Shortly after graduating, she moved to Montevideo and worked at Scott’s Dime Store and the Blue Ribbon Bakery, living with a girl named Marie.  Marie took her home to her family farm and introduced Evelyn to her brother, Irving Halvorson.  Shortly after that Irving showed up in his National Guard uniform and she fell in love.  Irving and Evelyn were married on November 10, 1946.  To their union 5 children were born.  They lived together for 39 years until Irving’s death, on the place his great-great - grandfather homesteaded.

Once they were married Evelyn quit working and became a full time farm wife and mother.  She became a jack of all trades.  She was already in the field as soon as they arrived home from their honeymoon helping with corn harvest for many years.  She would bring lunch to the fields at 9 and 3 like clock work and sometimes the meals if the men could not make it home.  She would run for parts, feed the animals, wash eggs to sell in town, take care of the family and house and anything else that might need to be done.

Evelyn saw many new inventions throughout her life.  A black and white TV, a dial telephone, indoor plumbing, clothes dryer, her first electric stove and a furnace to computers and cell phones. She loved to get new gadgets, especially those that said “As Seen On TV” and had a lot of them.  They all made life much easier.  She love growing plants in her greenhouse,  gardening, and crafting everything imaginable for family and friends right up until  a couple of weeks ago.

She loved going to all her children and grandchildren’s events, attending as many as she could She was very proud of them and all of their accomplishments.

She was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, teaching Sunday School, quilting, and Ladies Aid, where she held offices for many years and served on many committees.  She was a member of the Homemakers Club, Weight Watchers and along with her husband, square dancing, Farmers Union and Farm Bureau, holding offices in both.

Evelyn was survived by four children: Lyle (Sally) Halvorson, Montevideo, Dianne (Daryl Link, Kandiyohi, Gladys (Ron) Sanborn, Alexandria, Larry (Anne) Halvorson, Montevideo; 10 grandchildren: Michele (Dave) Feriancek, Melissa (Kevin) Fink, Donnie Link, Jennifer (Jacob) Haessly, Angela (Adam) Loftesness, Stephanie (Ben) Grimes, Thomas Halvorson, Anthony (KayCee) Sanborn, Gage (Justine) Halvorson, Jared Sanborn; 19 great-grandchildren; and 4 great-great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry P. and Margaret; stepfather, Henry T.; husband, Irving; son, Duane; granddaughter, Jill Halvorson; grandson, Duane Link; brothers, Harold Tebben, John Tebben; and sister, JoAnne Freese.