Marjorie Raasakka

Marjorie Mae Raasakka passed away on Sunday, October 26,2014 at Valley Eldercare in Grand Forks, ND with family by her side. Marjorie Mae Simonson was born in Breckenridge, MN on June 23,1927, the daughter of Simon and Clara (Kackman) Simonson. She graduated from Morris, MN High School in 1945 and attended Moorhead, MN State College for 2 years. She worked for Northwestern Bell for many years and also for Grand Forks Floral. She was united in marriage to Edwin Raasakka on November 23, 1957 at United Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND. Marjorie was a talented painter, talented figure skater and loved flower gardening. Her church was important to her and she belonged to United Lutheran Church in Grand Forks for 60 years, teaching Sunday School and singing in the choir. Fishing was one of her great loves and she enjoyed going to Lake of the Woods with her husband and their friends. Marge's famous divinity candy was loved by all. She shared her beautiful singing voice with her many friends at Valley Eldercare. Marge had a beautiful smile and one of her favorite sayings was "If you ever see someone without a smile, give them one of yours." She was preceded in death by her husband Edwin, her parents, brothers Wally Simonson and Rev. Lionel Simonson, sister Carol Goven , and her beloved dog Kota. She is survived by son Steven (Deb) Raasakka, daughter Kathryn (Bryan) Best, grandchildren Nathan and Nicole Raasakka, and Matthew (Chelsey) Best and Kristen (Cody) Best-Friesz and great-granddaughter Philippa. She is also survived by her sister Eileen Nelson, niece Genevieve Goven, nephew Tom Goven, and other nieces and nephews. Funeral Services will be at 11:00 AM, Thursday, October 30, 2014 at United Lutheran Church in Grand Forks with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at Friday, October 31, 2014 at the Veteran's Cemetery in Mandan, ND.