Luella Foss

luella foss
Luella Marie (Lian) Foss passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at Rosewood on Broadway in Fargo, ND, at the age of 105. Luella Marie was born April 25, 1911 to Lars and Marit (Aune) Lian on a farm near Flom, MN. The fourth of nine children, she had two sisters and six brothers. When Luella was 8 years old her family moved from the Flom farm to Gatzke, MN, where her mother’s parents lived. When she was 9 years old her parents purchased a farm in Meacham, Saskatchewan, Canada, and they lived there for about two years.  From there they moved to Gatzke, MN, where they lived on a farm with her Grandpa and Grandma Aune, her mother’s parents.  It was there that she finished eighth grade.  She worked for relatives, the Lars Rotvold family, in Gatzke and worked for them again after they moved to North Dakota. When she was 19 years old she went to work at the Traill County Poor Farm near Caledonia, ND, earning $4.00 a week. It was while working there that she met Percy.  They loved to dance, and she loved his sense of humor.  Four years later, November 7, 1934, she and Percy were married at Trinity Lutheran Church, a Norwegian Lutheran church in Moorhead, MN.   In the spring of 1935 they moved to the Bagley farm, where she cooked and Percy was a farm worker. From there they moved to living quarters in the basement of the Bingham School, a country school, where they were the janitors. And it was in that country schoolhouse basement in the middle of a three-day blizzard, that Patricia Lou was born. In the winter of 1938 they rented Percy’s mother’s farm and that’s where they were living when Gerald Jerome was born.  That fall they moved to a “government farm” west of Cummings, ND.  While living there Arlin Keith was born.  Marsha Kay, born prematurely, lived only one day.  They purchased the farm east of Cummings and moved there in the spring of 1952.  They worked very hard farming and Lou said that although there wasn’t much money in those days, no one else had very much either.  Lou’s hobby was collecting cookbooks, and she loved to bake for her family, especially cookies, buns and her “Grandma’s Delight” dessert.  She and Percy went to many dances and they liked to play cards.  She said the hardest time was when their 24-year-old daughter, Patsy, died from a heart tumor. In 1956 they started spending winters in Naples, Florida, which they did for about 32 years. She worked doing house cleaning all the years they wintered in Florida.  After selling their home in Florida, they spent six winters in south Texas.  In 1995 they moved to an apartment in north Fargo, and she was able to stay in the apartment by herself for several years after Percy died. In November 2009 she moved to Rosewood on Broadway in north Fargo. Luella is survived by her two sons, Gerald (Geraldine) Foss of Ham Lake, MN; and Arlin (Ann) Foss of West Fargo, ND; ten grandchildren – Rock (Jennifer) Rude, Debra (Tim) Patterson, Tamara (Rick) Cushman, Lucinda (Gerry) Faller, James (Vanessa) Foss, Jonathan Foss, Gregory (Jada) Foss, Kimberly Switalski, Beth (Ross) Horner, and Julie (Mitchell) Anders; 19 great grandchildren – Ryan Rude, Jessica (David) Patrick, Emily (Justin) Boetel, Elizabeth Patterson, Katie (Jon) Chandler, Kelcey (Adam) Niedermeier, Abbey (Mike) Anderson, Alexis, Jessica and Leo Faller, Kendall Foss, Colton, Drew and Skylar Switalski, Phoebe (Brian) Leier, Alex Horner, Abigael, Brant and Callie Anders; eight great-great grandchildren – Kaylin, Nathan and Jacob Patrick, Caleb and Elle Boetel, Hattie Chandler, Ava Niedermeier, and Holden Leier. She was preceded in death by her husband, Percy, her daughters Patricia Rude and infant daughter Marsha Foss, her great-grandson Joshua Patterson, her parents and all of her brothers and sisters.

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  1. My condolences goes out to all the family. You are in our prayers during this time of loss. May she rest in peace.

  2. All my prayers. Sorry for your loss. All our love. Carol Faller and Wayne Hammer Family

  3. I loved Lou! She was one of the nicest people ever to meet in a lifetime. May she hold Percy’s hand again and rest in peace together. She was such an angel.


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