Jane Grage

Jane’s services will be posted on this page half an hour prior to their start:

Jane Grage, 81, Fargo, ND, passed away on February 2, 2023 at Bethany Retirement Living.

Jane Grage loved to be on the go. She especially loved to travel and visited her girls wherever they were, and traveled with friends and through her church, as well. Some places she went included Norway, Ireland, Germany, Egypt, China, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Australia, and Israel. Of these travels she once said: “When I was born on May 23, 1941, no one knew how much fun that little baby was going to have in life.” And fun she had!

Josefita Jane Raaen was born to Oliver and Josephine (Reger) Raaen, as she always told, right in time for lunch, in Page, North Dakota. As an only child, she was loved dearly by her parents, and had many aunts and uncles who cherished and treasured her.

Jane worked in an office for many years before meeting Loren Grage at a singles picnic in Fargo. Jane and Loren were married at St. James Catholic Church in Page, ND on October 6, 1973. They farmed near Grandin, ND a community where she found immensely supportive and caring neighbors who became lifelong friends. She was a Girl Scout club leader, and was active in the American Legion Auxiliary for several decades. Loren and Jane were blessed with three daughters. As a family they always took a summer road trip, and then Jane and Loren loved to get a sitter for the kids and travel together after the harvest in the fall.

Loren died in 1991, leaving Jane to be a single parent. She rose to the challenge, and for her daughters she would do (almost) anything. For a very pregnant Grace she moved the refrigerator and scrubbed the kitchen floor because that’s what her mom did for her. She took Doris dress shopping in a blizzard when she didn’t have one for a school event the next day. One summer, she handed roadmaps to a middle school-aged Bridget and trusted her to navigate to Washington DC and Niagara Falls. She was a unique mix of being incredibly protective, but also gave her girls extraordinary free reign and formative experiences to send them off in the world, along with both a silverware set and toolset.

She’ll be remembered for her incomparable strong will, joy and enthusiasm, and a flair of creativity that permeated so much of what she did and who she was. She had a folksy turn of phrase for every situation. She invented an enchanting guardian angel story that she told her daughters every year on their birthdays. Her raspberry pie was something that only she had a magic touch for, and that no one else has been able to replicate. She had an incredible recall on family history, and could tell you almost any ancestor and date one needed. An avid people watcher, she enjoyed socializing, especially when it involved bingo or anything that involved coffee. She claims she started drinking coffee when she was still in her highchair—this planet will be hard-pressed to find another person who loved coffee as much as Jane did.

Jane was a member of St. Mary’s Cathedral most of her adult life, and was highly devoted to the Catholic Church. She had closeknit friends through this community, especially through Cursillo, Catholic Daughters Court of St. Ann, Legion of Mary, prayer groups, and Bible study. She even served on the Board of Trustees for the Pension Plan of the Diocese of Fargo. Later, she reveled in life at Riverview for many years, attending their chapel services and many social events.

Jane’s charmed life in this world came to a peaceful end on February 2, 2023. She is preceded in death by her father Oliver Raaen, mother Josephine Raaen, and husband Loren Grage. We know she is thrilled to be with them again.

She is survived by her daughters, Grace (Chris), Doris (Thongphanh), Bridget (Rob), and her eight wonderful grandchildren, Ashleen, Duncan, Trygve, Aksel, Henrik, Esben, Archer, and Faye.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Girl Scouts of America, Farm Rescue, or Catholic Relief Services.