Edith Larson, 88, of Williston, ND, passed away Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at the Bethel Lutheran Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Williston, ND.

Edith Ione (Fugleberg) Larson was born on December 18, 1931 to Olaf and Hilda (Julson) Fugleberg. She was the 5th of 9 children. She attended schools in Williston, graduating with the class of 1950. She worked at various jobs starting while she was in high school, eventually going to work for the telephone company as an operator. It was here that she met Irvin Larson. They were married on October 16, 1952. Edie, as she was known to family and friends, and Irv made Williston their home. They welcomed their son, Wayne, in November 1953. Irv was transferred to Bismarck soon after that. They lived in Bismarck for a year, however, they missed living in Williston so when Irv had a chance to transfer back to Williston, he took it. They welcomed their daughter, Carla, in August 1960. Edie was active in their church and helping with her children’s activities and making a home.

Irv died in September 1969 and Edie was left to raise her children and take care of the house that they had been working so hard on. Edie returned to school for a one year program so that she could “brush up” on some skills and return to the job market. It took many years for her children to realize just how strong their mother really was.

She worked at different companies and in 1987, she found herself unemployed due to the slowdown in the oil industry. In February, at the age of 55, she drove to California to look for work. She lived with her brother Kenneth in San Diego and found a job with SCI at their corporate offices. In May 1988 SCI decided to move their corporate headquarters and Edie made the decision not to relocate with the company. She came back to Williston for her daughter’s wedding and stayed for a month. When she returned to California, she moved to Bakersfield to be near her son and his family. She went to work for a funeral home and mortuary that was part of the SCI company, working there until her retirement. When her son’s marriage ended in divorce, she was there to help him take care of his 3 sons as they lived with him. She holds a very special place in their hearts.

When she decided to retire in 1997, she was ready to come home. She returned to Williston and enjoyed time with her granddaughters, her sisters and reconnecting with many old friends. Her brother, Kenneth, came back to Williston every summer and they would take her granddaughters, Liz and Julie fishing, hiking, exploring the countryside and on picnics, being gone for the entire day.

Her dementia started to show up in 2011 and she was losing her strength. She fell and broke her arm in August and had to be in the swing bed unit at Tioga Medical Center. The nursing staff took great care of her. She had hoped to return to her apartment once the break was healed, however, her dementia was getting worse and it was not possible for her to live on her own. There was an opening in the nursing home in Tioga and she was moved into that room. She resided in the Tioga Nursing home until December 2015 when it was decided to move her back to Williston to Bethel Home. She continued to be a resident at Bethel until her death. Edie was in Bethel under the care of hospice for the last few weeks of her life. She was very happy at both nursing homes and her family is very grateful for the care and compassion that the staffs at both homes gave her over the years. We would also like to thank the hospice staff for the wonderful care given to her in her final weeks. She was very peaceful at the end.

Edie is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Carla and Gary Adamson; daughter-in-law, Rita Larson of Bakersfield, Ca; grandsons, Wayne Larson, Jr. (Monica) of Long Beach, Ca, Eric Larson (Kellie and their children, Drake, Zoie and Piper) of Mustang, Ok and Brian Larson of Porterville, Ca.; granddaughter, Julia Adamson of Minneapolis; sisters, Deloris Huravitch of Gillette, WY, Betty Maltby of Black Hawk, SD; sisters-in-law, Jean Fugleberg of Sedgwick, KS, Delores Fugleberg of Poway, CA; many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Irv; son, Wayne; granddaughters, Elizabeth and Joscelynn Adamson; brothers, Kenneth, Harlan, Glenn; sisters, Luella Schmitz, Olive Willis, and Donna Bourette.