Marian Wegner
August 24, 1918 ~ January 24, 2013
Marian N. Wegner, 94, Fargo, ND passed away Thursday, January 24, 2013 at Elim Nursing Home under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley.
Marian Agnes Tonn, the daughter of August and Minnie (Sommerfeld) Tonn, was born on August 24, 1918 and raised on the family farm four and a half miles southwest of Arthur, ND and graduated from Arthur High School. She attended Moorhead State University for two years. She was baptized, confirmed and married at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Arthur.
She married Elmer Kae Nelson in February 1939. The wedding and dance at the Old Arthur Town Hall had to be postponed a day because of a blizzard. They farmed near Erie, North Dakota and had four children together. Elmer was killed in a car accident in 1950. Now a widowed mother of four, Marian moved to Fargo where she met and married Herman F. Wegner in 1954 and completed her role of raising her children.
When her children were of school age she attended Dakota Business College. She accepted the position of registrar at Central High School in Fargo. After the school burned down she finished her working career at South High School retiring after 24 years with the Fargo School System. When the children were grown and scattered around the country, they all received weekly carbon-copied letters. Her handwriting was perfect.
She so enjoyed her summers at the cabin on Big Floyd Lake, spending time with her family. She was famous for her peanut butter rolls, apple salad, lemon bars and meat loaf. On rainy days the family crowded around the big dining room table and played race horse solitaire.
Marian loved to read. After her retirement, every three weeks became “Library Tuesday.” She would check out 14 books for her next three week reading frenzy. Every book had to be read by the end of the three weeks which meant all night reading sessions and it continued right up till the end. An end table always had a cross word puzzle, book or word search game resting on it. In the living room was a card table with a jig-saw puzzle on it in some stage of completion.
She walked the hallways of Pioneer Assisted Living for four years. Three trips up and down the hallways was a third of a mile and three trips a day completed her mile. Mission accomplished. We want to thank Pioneer Assisted Living and Elim Nursing Home for the wonderful care they gave Marian.
Marian is survived by her daughters; Marjorie (Bob) McKinnon, Dent, MN; Frances (Gaston) Buford, Spring, TX; Susan (Loren) Jensen, Bremerton, WA; son Leroy (Vernice) Wegner, Fargo; grandchildren, Dawn, Peter, Matthew, Carly, Christopher, Katherine, Justin, Alicia, Lindsey, Bryce, Anne; 13 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren; brothers-in-law Norman (Louise) Nelson, Ayr, ND and William McClellan, St. Cloud, MN, sisters-in-law Grace Wegner, Marshall, MN and Betty Wegner, Virginia, MN and numerous nieces and nephews.
Marian was preceded in death by her husband’s Elmer K. Nelson and Herman F. Wegner, parents August and Minnie Tonn, and seven sisters, Henrietta, Mamie, Leona, Helen, Eleanor, Martha and Margaret.
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moorhead MnWe are sorry we missed the funeral, Marrian always had a smile & a wave when we saw her at the lake. She will be missed.
Moorhead MN
Marian who “opened” South in ’67 was not only special but also had a devilish streak as evidenced by her twinkling eyes. I chuckled at Jim Ebsen’s tale about receiving South’s junk mail after snidely making a comment about never receiving any mail. Way to go Marian!
Fargo North Dakota
I will never forget Marian. She ran the main office at South High School in Fargo with an iron fist when I was a young an eager Speech and English teacher in the late sixties. I would quip with her daily. I learned quickly that it was almost impossible to get one up on Marian but I tried. I remember one day when I walked into the main office to collect my mail and found that I had received none. I mockingly complained loudly that I felt unwanted and left out. Marian heard me. From that day forward, every piece of junk mail arriving at South High School ended up in my mailbox thanks to Marian. She was a wonderful woman.
Fgo N.D
She was so very kind to me and so very “motherly” as I will ALWAYS remember her kind and gentle soul!! :)))
Fargo ND
I first met Marian in August 1979 when I became the principal at Fargo South. There was no doubt as to who ran the main office and even the school!! Marian was direct,yet had a ready smile for students and staff alike. During her years with the Fargo Schools she mentor many an administrator and we apprecited her knowledge and abilities. My prayers and thoughts are for Marian and with her family.