Ragna Elise Valdal was born on October 7, 1904 in the Valdal valley near Alesen, Norway. Her parents were Bendik and Anna Marie Valdal. Her father was a bricklayer, road worker, and farmer. Ragna attended school and also worked on different farms helping with housework and other tasks. One of her jobs was to herd the livestock up in the mountains and help with the making of cheese. In 1925, at the age of 21, she left for the United States to find a new life. She settled in Minneapolis. While there she operated a boarding house for several years, worked as a nurses aid, and served as a cook during the building of the Alcon Highway in the war years. In 1943 Ragna Valdal married Alvin Gunderson of Minneapolis, formerly of the Clarkfield area. They bought a home in South Minneapolis and lived there till Ragna entered the Danebo Retirement Home in 1987. She later moved to the Clarkfield Care Center, Clarkfield, Minnesota. Alvin and Ragna were active members of Vanderburgh Presbyterian Church, Wedell Legion Post, and the Social Society. Ragna spun wool on her spinning wheel in the Territorial Building at the State Fair for many years. She did much volunteer and therapy work at the Veterans Hospital in Minneapolis. Ragna was a loveable and witty lady and famous for her cooking skills. Ragna passed away on Monday morning, August 9, 1993, at the Clarkfield Care Center at the age of 83 years. She is survived by one brother, Sigurd of Norway, sister-in-law, Mrs. Ludvig Gunderson of Iowa and numerous nieces and nephews in the USA and Norway. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Alvin in 1979; and four sisters: Johanne, Anne, Christine, and Bendiki; two brothers: Ola and Hjalmer. Blessed be her memory. Funeral Services: Wednesday, August 11, 1993, 7:30 p.m., Lynner Funeral Home, Clarkfield, Minnesota Thursday, August 12, 1993, 1:00 p.m., Vanderburgh Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota Officiants: Pastor Wayne Sheldon Pastor Deborah Lind-Schmitz Organist: Kathy Dufrane Soloist: David Rupp "Beautiful Savior", "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" Casket bearers: Harold Gunderson, Sheridan Gunderson, Sherman Winson, Jerry Fjerkenstad, Arvid Mauland, Melbourne Fjerkenstad Final Resting Place: Fort Snelling Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota Arrangements by Lynner Funeral Home Since 1891 Clarkfield Minnesota