Services for Margaret Kaasa
Margaret Kaasa, age 87, of Fosston, MN, passed away on Monday, September 28th, at McIntosh Senior Living in McIntosh, MN. A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, October 5th, at Maple Lake Lutheran Cemetery, rural Fertile, MN with the Rev. Phil Larsen officiating. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the service at the cemetery. Mask use is required and please bring your own chair. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service of Fosston and messages of condolence may be shared at www.carlinfuneral.com.
Early Life
Margaret was born Margaret Ann Haugen on September 26, 1933 at home near Fertile, Minnesota. She was the second child of Gustav and Marie (Erickson) Haugen. She was raised on a small farm in Fertile. She enjoyed playing house, dressing up her dolls, and making mud pies.
Schooling/Work
Margaret attended school and graduated from Fertile High School in 1951. Margaret went on to teacher training in Thief River Falls in 1951-1952. Margaret taught for six years in a one room schoolhouse until 1958 in North Dakota and Minnesota. Margaret also worked for the ASCS office in McIntosh and also as a housekeeper/laundry aide at First Care Nursing Home for several years. Margaret would come home from working to then put in another few hours caring for the “farm” in Fertile.
Marriage & Family
Margaret met Norval Kaasa and they were married September 8, 1962. Together they started a family raising Kenny, Darrel and Karen. In addition to being wonderful grandparents to Jennifer, Janelle, Josh, Nathan, Emily and Adrian. Margaret and Norval were best friends and had many wonderful years together spreading their love to the younger generations. On February 12, 2006, Norval passed away.
Margaret just had her 87th birthday. She enjoyed her last taste of ice cream which was always her favorite.
Hobbies & Service
Margaret enjoyed gardening, quilting, doing puzzles, fishing in her younger years, word searches, spending time down at the farm and was a loving wife to Norval and mom to the kids. You would often hear about Sunday drives across the countryside. Margaret shared stories about being a teacher in a one room schoolhouse and how different teaching is today. She also loved watching Minnesota Twins games on TV.
Memories
The families lasting memories of Margaret are simple; there was unconditional love, a little bit of stubbornness and hard work. Margaret will be remembered by many as someone who always put family first and soldiered on even when times were tough. Kenny and Karen will always remember mom’s special “smirk”, her caring heart and how she was always there for dad, through good and bad times no matter what. Not to mention her brutal honesty sometimes…Although we cannot hear her quirky comments or see her anymore, we will all remember mom.
The grandkids favorite memories of grandma are singing Johnny Cash, “Daddy Sang Bass” while driving down Highway 2 and grandma was laughing so hard she was crying or playing baseball in the yard with her and grandpa pretending we were Kirby Puckett. Another favorite memory was while mowing at the farm, grandma sat on a picnic table and the next moment, she was sitting on the ground…. the leg broke! We will never forget all the trips to the farm for mowing especially the many oatmeal pies we got to eat or the ice cream treats. All of the memories of grandma will never be forgotten. When we try to think of just one, many more come to mind and all we can do is think about how much we’ll miss her.
Survivors include her sister, Norma (Virgil) Anderson of Brooklyn Center, MN; children, Ken (Tammy) Kaasa of Gully, MN, and Karen (Donna) Hanson-Kaasa of Grand Rapids, MN; daughter-in-law, Vanna Kaasa of Fosston; grandchildren, Jen (Mike) Flaten of Cass Lake, MN, Janelle (Matt) Nickolay of Moorhead, MN, Josh (Stephanie) Kaasa of Fargo, ND, Nathan, Emily and Adrian Hanson-Kaasa of Grand Rapids, MN; and great grandchildren, Bradyn and Rylan Nickolay. Also surviving is her niece, Kathy (Tom) Lindstrom; nephew, Scott Anderson; and four great nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Gustav and Marie Haugen; husband, Norval Kaasa; son, Darrel Kaasa; and sibling, Lawrence Haugen.
Timothy M. Carlin, Director
Carlin Family Funeral Service
