Maxine Shirley Sundet passed away peacefully on April 13, 2018 at Riverview Care Center. Maxine was born December 27, 1922 in Crookston, MN to Ole and Beata (Morgan) Sundet. She was baptized on 2/25/1923 at the First English Lutheran Church in Crookston, and confirmed on 6/13/1937 at the Federated Lutheran Congregation in Crookston, eventually becoming a member of Trinity Lutheran Church. Maxine attended Crookston High School where she graduated in 1942.
Maxine worked at the Bethesda Hospital in Crookston as a nurse’s aide from 1942-1944. She was then employed at Maves Optical Company from 1944 until she retired in 1985. Her work at Maves began as a lens grinder, and she later became the secretary there.
For many years Maxine was actively involved in the local Crookston Sons of Norway chapter, the Golden Link Senior Center, and was a member of the International National Charter Member of the Secretary Club. Maxine also started a “Reach to Recovery” program in Crookston around 1970 as a breast cancer survivor to help other women facing the same challenge.
Maxine enjoyed playing her accordion, investigating her Norwegian genealogy, and baking. Her Swedish Tea Rings at Christmas were a very special treat. She also loved horses and was able to ride at a family farm in Badger but never able to own one of her own. But first and foremost she was devoted to caring for her mother and that always came first. There were opportunities for travel however, including trips to Seattle to the World’s Fair, Canada, and Worthington, MN to visit her older sister, Alice. She also traveled to Alaska with her brother Russell and his wife Helen three times to visit her nephew Richard Sundet in Anchorage, including his wedding in 1991. In 1987, Richard chartered a small plane and along with the pilot he/Russell/Helen/Maxine flew out of Talkeetna, Alaska landing on Ruth Amphitheater at 8,000 feet on Mount McKinley. It was the first and only time Maxine had been in a small plane and while it could not be said that she thoroughly enjoyed it at the time, afterwards she said it was her greatest thrill and she told the story many times. Maxine will always be remembered for her kind and selfless generosity, and will be sadly missed.
Preceding Maxine in death are her parents, Ole and Beata, her siblings and their spouses, Alice (Earl) Smith, Wallace (Frances) Sundet, and Russell (Helen) Sundet. Maxine is survived by her nieces and nephews, William (Pat) Smith of Worthington; Raymond (Krista) Smith of Kansas; Mary (Thomas) Anderson of Colorado; James (Carol) Sundet of Wisconsin; Richard (Kathrin) of Anchorage, Alaska; and Judy Keasler of Crookston, along with several grandnephews and nieces. In later years, she thoroughly enjoyed the company of her grandnephews Lyon Keasler, and Tomas and Jamie Sundet of Anchorage when they visited each year.
A service celebrating Maxine’s life will be held on Friday April 20, 2018 at 1:00 p.m at Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home in Crookston. Visitation will precede the service at the funeral home at noon on the 20th.
The family sincerely thanks the staff at Riverview Memory Care for their wonderful care of Maxine for the last seven years.
