Grace Mork

Grace Mork, 103, passed peacefully in Mandan, ND on December 29, 2018.

A Celebration of her Life will be held at 11 am on Saturday, May 11, 2019 at First Lutheran Church, Mandan, with Reverend Christina Martin officiating.  The family will greet friends from 9 am to the time of service at the church.  Inurnment will be at Mandan Union Cemetery.

Grace Ellen (Hammarstedt) Mork was born May 12, 1915, and grew up near the town of Brisbane, formerly located 10 miles southeast of Carson, ND.  She was the daughter of Edwin Hammarstedt who immigrated from Urshult, Sweden in 1903 and his wife, Ida Franzen, who immigrated from Vaxjo, Sweden in 1900.  Grace's parents were great advocates of education and Grace was proud to have graduated 1st in her high school class in 1933.  She went on to complete her university degree, a rare occurrence for women at the time, graduating from NDSU in Nutrition and Home Economics in 1944. She did her practice teaching in Dickinson and earned her high school teaching certificate for Basic Sciences and Home Economics.  Grace worked in Grant County and Morton County Welfare Services, and later managed the Expanded Nutrition program for Morton County Extension Service.

Grace has always been interested in sports starting in high school where she lettered and was a part of the Grant County championship basketball team.  Over the years, she was a fan of the Mandan football, basketball, and swim teams, the Minnesota Twins, and especially NDSU Bison football.

Grace met Andy Mork on August 13, 1944, and they were married on November 12, 1945.  Over the next years, together they built their home, farm, and family of 5 children.

Grace had many passions.  She and Andy shared a common interest in politics and local improvements including the Harmon Lake Project.  She loved reading biographies and playing rag-time piano.  She was a talented gardener and perfected many canning and freezing techniques. She was a great cook but loved baking bread and pies the most.  She was a knitter and mender, and she enjoyed being involved with Homemakers Club and the Rock Haven 4-H Club.   Her favorite place was on the bench at her kitchen table by the windows, visiting with her kids, grandkids, friends, and neighbors over coffee and news.

Grace is survived by her son, Charles (Sarah), Mandan, and their children, Andrew, Heidi (Nathan) Steinle, and Tim (Calle); her son, Douglas (Joanie), Bismarck, and their children, Erik (Rebecca), Jennie, Jeana (Jon) Youness, and Julie (Patrick) Tobkin; her daughter, Jean Mork Bredeson (Glen Robertson), Minneapolis, and their children, Shawn, Jennifer (Rory) O’Leary, Heather, Allen (Erica), Drew (Heather), and Grace (Ben) Hinton; her son, Bruce (Mildrid Selsjord), Houghton, Michigan, and their children Nora and Olav; and 14 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Andy in 2010; her beloved daughter, Joanne Grace in 1967; her parents; her older brother, Robert, who died as an infant; and her brother, Roy, in 2008.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Lutheran Church of Mandan or the Harmon Lake Project.