Mildred Knorr

Mildred (Christianson) Knorr, 93, of Moorhead, MN, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 15, 2019, at Eventide Lutheran Home, the last family member of her generation. Mildred was born at home on the family farm in Phelps, MN, on April 21, 1925, the first of five children, to Andrew and Sena (Anderson) Christianson. She walked up to 2.8 miles a day to attend rural elementary school, never missing a day, and graduated from Underwood High School in 1943. Mildred always wanted to be a teacher. She graduated from Fergus Falls Normal School in 1944, attended Moorhead State Teachers College in the summer, and began teaching in District 22, north of Phelps, in the fall of 1944. In August of 1942, Mildred met the love of her life “down by the old mill stream.” Leonard Knorr, visiting friends in Phelps (a flour mill farming community), was diving off the bridge over the Ottertail River, and Mildred was watching her sister swim by the bridge. They were married at Tingvold Lutheran Church, on June 19, 1948. They raised their three children in Ft. Lincoln, ND, Ft. Peck, MT, and Riverdale, ND. Leonard passed away on December 23, 1980, and Mildred moved to Fargo, ND, to be near her children. Mildred was devoted to family. Her husband, children, and grandchildren were her life. She was proud of her Scandinavian heritage, and remained connected to her extended family in the U.S. and abroad, traveling to Norway to meet the “rest of the family.” Mildred was a letter-writer and the family archivist, assembling the family history and writing her own autobiography. Both classmates and students remember Mildred as being “lots of fun.” She was a reader and a lover of music, with the stereo playing all day, inspiring some impromptu dancing around the living room. Her grandson just had to ask, “You’re not an ordinary Grandma, are you?” Mildred was known to exaggerate just a little, and retained her infamous sense of humor throughout her whole life. Mildred was kind-hearted. She was the first to welcome new neighbors, send a card of sympathy, or deliver a rose from her yard to anyone who needed a little kindness. Mildred is survived by her three children; David (Renee) of Mesa, AZ; Steven (Flory) of Fargo, ND; and Mary (Timothy) Hung of Rochester, MN. Also surviving are three grandsons; Andrew (Elizabeth) Hung, Christian (Amy) Hung, and Justin (Maureen) Knorr; and two great-granddaughters, Samantha Knorr and Marianne Hung. We celebrate Mildred’s life and legacy on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at Tingvold Lutheran Church in rural Underwood, MN. Visitation is at 1:00, with Celebration of Life at 2:00. Lunch will follow at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to Tingvold Lutheran Church.