Lana Wilson

Lana (Magdalene) Wilson died on December 12, 2015, at Valley Memorial Care Center, Grand Forks, North Dakota. Lana was born on September 24, 1925 on a farm near Camper, Manitoba, Canada, the daughter of Gustave and Martha (Miller) Hoffman. Lana and her twin sister Bertha, were the youngest of 11 siblings that were raised on the Hoffman farmstead. She attended Briton School, a small one-room schoolhouse about 3 miles from the farm, through eighth grade. In 1943 she joined her twin sister, Bertha, in Winnipeg where both were employed at Monarch Overall. It was in Winnipeg where she met and married William (Bill) Wilson, a young American sailor just back from a tour of duty in the South Pacific. They were married on November 27th, 1948 in Winnipeg. Bill was hired by Northwestern Bell and the two of them moved many times until Bill was named Northwestern Bell manager in Maddock, North Dakota in 1953, where they resided for 26 years before moving to Grand Forks in 1979.    After moving to Grand Forks, Lana became involved in the community volunteering for many organizations including Sharon Lutheran Church and Altru.  Lana was always willing to lend a hand to help out as she felt that busy hands were a necessity.  Some of her favorite volunteer duties included serving on the Sharon funeral committee, and knitting hats for the infants born at Altru.  It is estimated that Lana knitted over 1300 hats that she donated to the babies of Altru.    Bill and Lana were the proud parents of 4 children, and raising a family became her full time duties. They joined North Viking Lutheran Church where Lana taught Sunday school for 18 years, ten as superintendant and music director. From a young age, music was a special gift for Lana, as she not only enjoyed playing in the Hoffman family band, but also enjoyed singing hymns.   Lana had a multitude of talents, as many can attest to, including crocheting, knitting, and baking.  She is often remembered for her gardening talents where her green thumb was always on display wherever she moved.  Her grandchildren would say that her baking expertise was one of their greatest memories whether it be lefse, cookies or anything else they had the pleasure to sample while visiting Grandma.    Lana became a naturalized citizen along with her grandson Jason Poellot on September 17, 1987.  It was one of her proudest moments to become a US citizen after living in the states for nearly 30 years.   Lana was survived by her children Ken (Eileen) Wilson of Grand Forks, Rod (Sue) Wilson of Minot, Rhonda (Michael) Poellot of Grand Forks and Brent (Jill) Wilson of Grand Forks. Grandchildren and great grandchildren Tricia (Richard) Deitz, Brandyn, Brianna and Bryce of Fargo, Missy (Kristen Juven) Wilson of Fargo and Jarod Wilson of Minneapolis, MN. Ryan Wilson of Minot, David (Chelsea) Wilson, Carter and Charlie of Williston and Nathan Wilson of Pasadena, California.  Jason and Sarah Poellot of Grand Forks. Nichole, Cassidy and Taylor Wilson of Grand Forks.   Lana was proceeded in death by her husband Bill, January 2, 1987, her parents Gustave and Martha and her siblings Gus, Victoria, Theodore, Arthur, Olga, Bertha and 2 siblings that died at child birth and one who died just after child birth. Services will be held at Sharon Lutheran Church, Grand Forks, ND; Wednesday December 16th at 1:00 pm.  Family visitation will precede the service starting at 11:30 am at Sharon. Memorials are preferred to the donor’s choice, or to the American Heart Fund. In lieu of flowers the family would prefer poinsettias to be donated to Sharon Lutheran after the service. The family would also like to thanks the staffs of Parkwood Assisted Living Center (Altru) and Valley Memorial Care Center for the excellent care Lana received.