At the age of 101, Margaret was surrounded by her daughters when she passed away Wednesday, August 4, 2021, at Valley Senior Living, Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Margaret Genevieve Hellerud was born in Twin Valley, Minnesota, on December 25, 1919, to John and Gina (Anderson) Hellerud. She was baptized and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church in Twin Valley and graduated from Twin Valley High School in 1937. She was employed at her father’s The Club Café in Twin Valley following graduation.
Margaret was united in marriage to Carman Eeg on August 24, 1941, at Zion Lutheran Church in Twin Valley and resided in Gary, Minnesota. Carman passed away unexpectedly on August 19, 1959. At the time of his death, Carman was employed as Postmaster for the United States Postal Service in Gary. After his death, Margaret was appointed to the Postmaster position. An active member of Gary Lutheran Church, Margaret held several offices in the Ladies’ Aid Society and served as Sunday School Superintendent. She became a member of the Gary American Legion Auxiliary and served as District President, Department Chairman, and a Gold Star Sister. Margaret proudly maintained her 77-year American Legion Auxiliary membership throughout her lifetime.
Margaret married Conrad Myrold on December 9, 1961, and relocated to Crookston, Minnesota. After Conrad’s death on February 6, 1977, she owned and managed the family’s A & W Drive-In and mobile home park and was a real estate agent for Century 21 Realty. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Crookston and held several positions in Trinity’s American Lutheran Church Women organization. She was a founding member of Trinity’s THEOS (They Help Each Other Spiritually) organization, a grief support group.
She married Elmer Calender on January 1, 1980, in Crookston. They resided in Mason City, Iowa until Elmer’s death. She moved to Grand Forks in August 1991 and became Housemother at Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority at the University of North Dakota for seven years. After retiring in 1998, she remained in Grand Forks and volunteered at various local organizations, played cards with her very special girlfriends, and traveled. She enjoyed reading, worked crossword puzzles by telephone with her sister, Harriet, and remained connected with her daughters on a daily basis. A deep interest in national and world events kept her engaged; she was blessed with a sharp mind which was marveled at by many for a person of her age.
Visiting all 50 States and several countries brought her great joy. A special trip was to the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial located in Maargraten, Netherlands, to visit the burial site of her brother, John Hellerud, Jr. who, at the age of 19, was killed in Europe during WWII.
Margaret is survived by three daughters: Sandra (Neil) Fedje, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Mary (Curtis) DeBoer, Crookston, Minnesota, and Constance Ungrue, Minneapolis, Minnesota; one stepdaughter, Carol Hannah, Renville, Minnesota. Also surviving are four grandchildren, Elizabeth (Cody) Schon, Casselton, North Dakota, Patricia Fedje, Mapleton, North Dakota, Donald Fedje, Texarkana, Texas and Sarah Noble, Crookston, Minnesota; four great-grandchildren, Crystal LeTexier, Michele LeTexier, Phoenix Martinez and Sarah Fedje; five great-great-grandchildren, Sylas, Jordan and Penelope LeTexier, Marilyn Hoffman and Jeremiah Fedje; cousin, Duane Anderson, Sacramento, California, and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters and two brothers, husbands, and a son-in-law.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials in Margaret’s name be directed to the organization of your choice.
A memorial service for Margaret Calender will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, August 13, 2021, in the Trinity Lutheran Church in Crookston with The Rev. Corey Lange, officiating. Visitation with the family will be for one hour prior to the service and inurnment will follow in the Oakdale Cemetery. Please enter Trinity from the parking lot entrance as all other doors are locked.
The service will be live-streamed by logging on to www.stenshoelhouske.com 10 minutes before the scheduled start and going to the bottom of Margaret’s obituary page to click on the prompt to view.
Online registry and messages of condolence may be made at www.stenshoelhouske.com
