Marjorie Bernadean Combs, 90, of Crookston, MN, passed away peacefully Tuesday morning, December 1, 2020, at the Villa St. Vincent.
Marjorie was born on her parents’ farm near Sharon, ND on January 1, 1930, one of five children of the union of Gilman and Josephine (Ostgard) Berg. She grew up on the farm and attended a nearby country school through the eighth grade. After completing her junior year at the Sharon High School the family moved to McIntosh, MN where Marjorie graduated from McIntosh High School with the Class of 1947. She then moved to Crookston and a year later to New York, NY where she was employed with the American Cyanamid Co. After her return to Crookston, she attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks for one year. During the following years, Marjorie was employed at the Minnesota National Bank in East Grand Forks. She then became the first-ever bookkeeper for KROX Radio while also becoming an on-air personality hosting her own program called “A Teenager Looks at the Stars.” During this time she began taking flying lessons at the Crookston airport, but times were tight and due to a lack of funds she was not able to ‘earn her wings.’ After serving as bookkeeper for the Bridgeman Creamery in Crookston she moved to Moorhead, MN to work at Moorhead State Teachers College. Next came a move to the Los Angeles, CA area where Marjorie was united in marriage to Hobert Charles “Toby” Combs on May 16, 1958, in North Hollywood. The couple lived at different times in Los Angeles, Chatsworth, and Sun City, CA, and Grants Pass, OR. During these years Marjorie worked in real estate as an escrow officer and real estate agent. Sadly, Toby passed away in September of 1989. Marjorie would later move to Oak Ridge, TN for 2 years before returning to Crookston in 2007 where she resided at The Summit.
Marjorie served as secretary/treasurer of the Chatsworth (CA) Methodist Church for many years, and since her return to Crookston had been a devoted member of the Trinity Lutheran Church. She became a resident of the Villa St. Vincent on July 10, 2017, and enjoyed the friendship of very caring staff and fellow residents. Marjorie will be very lovingly remembered and sadly missed by all who shared in her long and adventurous life.
Marjorie is survived by 2 step-children, Hobert “Jay” Combs Jr. and wife, Patricia, of Tucson, AZ and Pamela Combs Butler and husband, Roger, of Mesa, AZ; 7 grandchildren; 2 siblings: Lela Gosslee of Maryville, TN and Merna Vind of Crookston, MN; together with many nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends. In addition to Toby, her beloved husband of 31 years, Marjorie was preceded in death by her parents, Gilman and Josie Berg; a step-son, Roy Combs; 2 brothers, James Berg and Gerald Berg; and 2 brothers-in-law, Charles Vind and David Gosslee. Blessed be the memory of Marjorie Bernadean Combs.
The funeral service honoring the life of Marjorie Combs will be held at 2:00 pm, Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at the Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home with The Rev. Greg Isaacson, officiating. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service.
Interment will take place in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Fertile, MN. The funeral will be live-streamed by logging on to www.stenshoelhouske.com then clicking on Marjorie’s obituary and scrolling to the bottom of the page where a prompt will appear to click on to view the service.
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