Services for Roald Emil Josephson

Roald Emil Josephson, 94, of Ada, MN, died on at January 4, 2018.
Roald was born on October 14, 1923, on the family homestead in Hickory Township, Pennington Co., MN. He was the sixth of seven children born to Anna (Bakke) and Arne Josephson. Roald and his family belonged to Nazareth Lutheran Church and he attended Pleasant View Country School, both in Trail, MN.
Roald and his family had hardships during the Depression. They lost their investment in a cattle stockyard in West Fargo. Roald contracted sleeping sickness in his early teens and struggled to pass the eighth grade state test required to graduate. His father died when Roald was fifteen years old and Roald, his Mother, and his siblings worked together on the farm. 
While WWII was ongoing, the County Draft Board came to draft Roald’s 18-year-old brother Obert, but Roald volunteered to go in his place. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Snelling, MN, on February 24, 1945.
In June 1945 Roald departed from Los Angeles on the army troop ship Sea Bass. He was assigned to the Signal Corps since he knew Morse Code (thanks to his sister Aasta). He was shipped to the Philippines and spent July and August of 1945 traveling to Okinawa on the General Sheridan, where they experienced a typhoon with 157-mph winds. Roald felt very fortunate to be present for the formal Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. He shipped to Incheon, Korea, and was a Staff Sergeant in charge of the motor pool. In 1946 he was discharged after two years in the Army. 
Roald came home from the Army to live with his mother and two brothers. He bought a gravel truck and hauled sand in the area. He saved enough to purchase 160 acres of land adjacent to his parents’ homestead.
Roald married Edna Bertine Larson on July 5, 1953, at the Salem Lutheran Parsonage in Oklee, MN. Witnesses were Roald’s sister and her husband, Aasta and Harold Peterson. 
Roald’s mother passed away in November 1953, and his first child, Debra Ann, was born in January 1954. Roald worked at the Minneapolis Moline Plant as a machinist but was laid off later that year. He and Edna moved back to the Hickory Township homestead when his brothers Ed and Obert told him they wanted to quit farming and find work in the Twin Cities. Roald and Edna farmed for seven years. During this time they welcomed two more children, Denise Beverly and Randal Lee. 
The family moved to the Leo Baker farm in Ada in 1962 where Roald started working for the Minnesota State Highway Department. Their fourth and last child, Lisa Estelle, was born in 1964. They bought the Wambach house in Ada in 1965 and Roald spent the winter doing drywall, electrical work, plumbing, and painting before the family moved in. 
Roald loved to drive around on Sundays after church with his family and take them to eat at cafes in Halstad, Twin Valley, Winger, and even Towner, ND. He said Sundays were Mom’s day off cooking. He took us on road trips to Yellowstone, Mackinac, Duluth, and Bemidji. He loved to take us visiting his sisters, Alice, Evelyn, Laura, and Aasta. He drove the family to Oklee, MN, most weekends to stay with our grandmother, Bertha Larson, and Uncle Gerhard Larson. 
Roald retired at the age of 62. Roald enjoyed playing cards and socializing with friends at the Ada Senior Center and fishing in Minnesota at Lake of the Woods, Red Lake, the Lost River, and Lake Lizzie. He and Edna enjoyed square dancing, delivering Meals on Wheels, and driving around the country visiting siblings, cousins, and friends. Edna passed away in 1997. 
Roald married Jean Hubbel Ness on January 15, 1999. Jean retired from her occupation as church secretary at Grace Lutheran Church, Ada, MN.
Roald is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Edna, his stepdaughter Marilee (Steve) Purrington, his siblings Alice Thorine (Walter) Johnson Luchi Wakefield, Edward Olai (Bonita), Evelyn Olivia (Henry) Branden, Laura Vivian (Emil) Johnson (Miller) Gregerson, Aasta Ruth (Harold) Peterson, and Obert Jerome.
Roald leaves his wife, Jean, his children Debra (Jeffrey) Baer, Fargo, ND, Denise (Al) Cameron, Horace, ND, Randal (Kathy), LaCrosse, WI, Lisa (Steve) Berkner, Ortonville, MN, his grandchildren Jacob (Becky) Baer, Denver, CO, Jared Baer, Wyatt Cameron, Scott Cameron, Fargo, ND., and great grandchildren Morgan Baer and another expected soon.
Roald leaves his stepchildren Pam (Bill) Thompson, Dent, MN, Dan (Kim) Ness, Julie (Brian) Borge, Ada, MN, and Wendy (Jim) Cox, Sarasota, FL, step-grandchildren Ryan (Amber) Thompson, West Fargo, ND, Alicia Thompson, Heather Thompson (Phil) Rodeman, Carver, MN., Bobbie (Tony) Kucera, Matt (Kirsten) Huovinen, Matt (Theresa) Purrington, Cottage Grove, MN., Patrick (Kristen) Purrington, Bemidji, MN, Dustin (Karen), Northfield, MN, Kris Ness, Minneapolis, MN, Blair (Katie) Ness, Nederland, CO, Jessica Borge (Jarrett) Heiting, Sarasota, FL., and Jon Borge, Ada, MN. Roald leaves step-great grandchildren Michael, Andrew, Dylan, and Logan Purrington, Elliot, Flynn, Ferris Ness, Danny and Grace Rodeman, Ethan, Alex, Caitlyn, Isaac Kucera, Jack, Sawyer, and Charlie Huovinen. 
Funeral: 11:00 AM Friday, January 12, 2018 at Grace Lutheran Church, Ada, MN.
Visitation: Friday from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the church.
Burial: Ada Municipal Cemetery, Ada, MN.
Arrangements with Fredrikson-Ganje Funeral Home, Ada, MN. 218-784-4600 www.fredriksonfh.com 
 

Richards Publishing

P.O. Box 159
239 2nd Ave
Gonvick, MN 56644
Telephone: (218) 487-5225
email: richards@gvtel.com

 

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