Lorraine Smedsrud
September 15, 1932 ~ June 1, 2020
Lorraine Ann Smedsrud, 87, of Fargo ND died on June 1, 2020 in Sanford Hospice House surrounded by her loving family.
Lorraine Ann Vasek was born in Tabor MN, daughter of Joseph and Mary Vasek (Pribula). She was raised on the family farm north of East Grand Forks, MN, attended Sacred Heart Catholic High School. Lorraine worked in various retail stores in the Grand Forks area before marriage.
On January 26, 1954 she was united in marriage to the love of her life Stan Smedsrud in Grand Forks ND. They relocated to Fargo in 1962 where Lorraine raised the children and ran a home daycare.
She was an active member of St. Mary’s Cathedral volunteering for numerous fundraisers and fall bazaars. She enjoyed baking and was always known to have a freezer full of her famous raisin spice cookies. She especially loved her children and grandchildren and watching over them and keeping up with their activities. Her hobbies included reading, playing cards, piano and accordion. She loved to travel whether it be Las Vegas or the rural countryside.
Lorraine’s greatest joys were her children Lon (Roxanne) Smedsurd West Fargo, ND, Leanne (David) Pladson Fargo, Jodi Baer Fargo. She treasured her grandchildren Cody (Megan ) Smedsrud, Chelsey Haukous Fargo, Cole Smedsrud Fargo. Jarred (Brianne) Chamberlain Seattle WA, Derrek (Natalie) Pladson, Mallory Pladson Fargo. Christopher and Josh Baer Fargo. Great-granddaughter Sawyer Haukous.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband Stan, son Lee, sisters and brothers. She is survived by her sister Adeline Klitzke, sisters-in-law Veronica Vasek and Arlene Smedsrud. Lorraine was dearly loved and cherished by numerous nieces and nephews.
A private family mass and private burial to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery Fargo, ND.
The family requests in lieu of flowers and memorials contributions be sent to Lorraine’s favorite charity North Dakota Cystic Fibrosis Bismarck Chapter
A live stream of Lorraine's Funeral Mass can be viewed below:
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Lon, Leanne & Jodi
Your mom was a wonderful person and will be deeply missed by all of us. I always looked forward to when your parents would come to Madison to visit and the jokes that they both told. Thinking of all of you at this time.
Love your cousin
Sandy
So sorry to hear this sad news.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Debbie and Jim Winzenburg
Lon, Leanne, and Jodi,
I will truly miss your mom. She was a very special lady. She was always very welcoming and so happy to see us and we were always happy when she would come to St. Cloud,
Thinking of all of you during this hard time.
So sorry for your loss! I remember when her and Stan would come visit my grandma Phyllis in Sioux Falls. Praying for your family!
Loraine’s Family.
I was so sorry to learn of Loraine”s passing. We were neighbors in the condos. Every time I saw Lorraine, she was so pleasant. The last time we spoke was when I saw her at Dakota Magic and we had such a pleasant visit. That was probably because neither of us were winning and just killing time! She will be missed. My sincere condolences to the whole family.
Lonnie so sorry for your loss.
Lon, Leanne, and Jodi
My heartfelt sympathy to you. Your Mom was such a special lady and my favorite Aunt! A few months
back when she came with Dennis and Kathy to Grand Forks and all of us gathered at Kris’ house for
the afternoon, we had such a nice visit with her. I have fond memories of being a kid and coming to
Fargo to your house for a meal on a Sunday. I will miss her.
Lon, Leanne & Jodi,
What a blessing to have your Dad and Mom next to us for all those years. I remember watching you all group up. I got a chance to talk to Lorraine a lot in these last years.
God bless you all, love, Vic and Arlene
It is with great sadness I feel today with the passing of my favorite aunt, my great friend and my second mom.
Stan and Lorraine for some reason always seemed to take me under their wings, whether it was inviting me to live with them or going on a trip or a vacation. We had so much fun over the years especially our trip through Wisconsin hitting a whole bunch of casinos in various cities.
They were very instrumental in encouraging me to purchase my condo in their building. Over the many years we had many breakfasts with chef Stanley and we always hashed over the news of the day at those times.
Lorraine would either call or we would personally visit each other everyday after Stan left us. She was always concerned about anything she could do for me. No more cookies……
I will terribly miss Lorraine, I am so happy that her pain is over. May she rest in peace with her family and the Lord.
Leann, Jodi and Lon
Your mom was such a fun lady. She was so kind, caring and compassionate with me. Mom and I had so much fun with her when she came with us for our Minnesota casino run/vacation. We laughed and shared many fond memories. I had to laugh when I thought we had hit every casino and she remembered one about a half hour away from Hinckley! On the road again we were to another one. She was an amazing woman and Stan was truly the love of her life. I am happy she is with him but my heart breaks for all of us who will miss her. She was definitely a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit. My sincerest sympathy to all of you and your families. She was loved.
Very sorry to hear of Lorraine’s passing. She always had a smile on her face and had the ability to talk to anybody with complete honest sincerity. Always glad to see her stop by the restaurant.
Lon, Leanne, Jodi and family of Lorraine,
Our deepest sympathy to all of you. Lorraine was one of my favorite aunts and Stan one of my favorite uncles. We always had so much fun and laughed a lot when we were together. I have so many good memories. Your mom’s chocolate chip cookies were my favorite. The pictures and music in the video are awesome. It made me smile, reminisce about the good times, and also brought me to tears. She will truly be missed. Wishing you all comfort, peace, and beautiful memories.
Love, Cindy & Karl
So sorry to hear of the death of your mother Lon. Prayers for the family. Dennis and Karen Kooren
Lon,Leanne,Jodi and family, Bill and I are holding all of you in our prayers in the death of your dear mom, grandma,and friend. Treasuring our memories of Aunt Lorraine. Bill and Tricia Neil
Lon, Leanne, Jodi,
You all are in our thoughts and prayers! Your parents were always so gracious and willing to help anyone and we always looked forward to their visits. One recent memory I have is when we invited them out for dinner and had pork chops, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and the number of helpings they had. I am sure it was quite a change from Taco Bell! Your mother will be greatly missed.
Lorraine ( she didn’t want me to call her auntie because it made her feel old) and I go way back in my life to a farm in Minnesota. Through the years we have had many happy times together, especially staying with my brother and being able to visit with her at the condo. I know this about my most special aunt, she was kind, giving, generous, funny, and engaging. Stan and Lorraine involved us in their lives. It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to someone I loved like my own mother. I will miss our talks, shopping and sharing a meal with you, but you are where you are supposed to be, with Stan, the love of your life. You were the best
Beautiful service and Tribute Video for your mom. Our heartfelt sympathy to you all.
Love Ron and Lollie
Lorraine, my only sister left with me and now I am alone. No more sisters and brothers. My heartfelt sympathy to Lee ann, Jodi and Lon. I will miss all those telephone conversations we had. She is now where she will be happy and well. Love to all. Adeline Klitzke
Lon, Leanne & Jodi
So sorry to hear of the loss of your mother. Both Vicki and I enjoyed both your mom & dad’s visits over the years. She will be missed.
To the whole family, sorry for your loss. My prayers for you at this time. Your mom, grandma and friend will be missed but not forgotten.
Hopefully will see you all soon, again my condolences.
We were sorry to hear of Lorraine’s passing. We wish we could have lived closer to see her and Stanley more. She was such a classy lady. Always really dressed up, so nice to everyone. We stayed with them one night on our honeymoon, and had a great night of talking. Stanley would sometimes stay here, and we would hear all the old stories of Larry’s family.
The slide show for her is wonderful.
We are sure she is with Stan now. You are in our prayers.
Love, Larry and Shirley Sticht