Sandra "Jo" Dunn

Sandra Coralyn “Jo” Dunn, 81, passed Saturday, November 6^th at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks.

Jo was born in Fordville, ND on July 12, 1940 to LeRoy E. and Beulah (Ulvedal) Nelson.  The family lived in Inkster, ND and rural Thompson, ND before moving to Grand Forks.  Jo graduated from Grand Forks Central In 1958.  She was very involved in school activities and made life-long friends. She worked at Norby’s and Mandel’s part-time while taking classes at the University Of North Dakota.

On April 3, 1959, Jo and James E. Dunn were united in marriage.  Together they raised five children.  When the children were all in school, she began working at USBank, first as a teller, and later as a Customer Service Representative.  She loved this position, smiling and meeting people.  After she retired, she would look forward to lunch and outings with the Bank Ladies.

Jim and Jo loved the lake.  They packed up the kids and the camper, every summer week-end for years and headed to Cass Lake.  In 1988, Jim and Jo purchased a lake home on Potato Lake near Park Rapids. They enjoyed the lake activities with family, friends and neighbors for many happy years.  They left lake-living to be closer to medical facilities and family.

Jo was known for her culinary skills, especially baking cakes, pies and cookies. If you were fortunate enough to get on her list, (kids and friends) she would take orders for Christmas treats.  Extremely meticulous in her baking, the goodies would be perfectly decorated and delicious to everyone’s delight.  Neighbors and older relatives also were the recipients of baked goodies.  She was a caring and giving soul that greeted people with a smile. She was gregarious, fun-loving, and full of energy. She will be missed by all who knew her good heart. 

Jo is survived by her children, Pamela (Pete) Olson, Patrick Dunn, Paula (Dan) Curran, Peggy (Stuart Mattson) Dunn, and Peter Dunn; grandchildren, Casey (Jenny) Olson, Michael (Amy) Olson, Jeff Olson, Katie (David) Widger, Courtney (Chris) Hastings, Ashley (Chris) Gamlin, Alex Larson, and Dixon Dunn; great grandchildren, Kendra, Blake, Audrey, Abby, Emma, Maddie, Brooks, Will and Jane; sisters, Gayle (Jerome) Birkeland, Maureen (Ordean) Jacobson, Tootsie (Gino) Gasparini; a brother, Tom (JoyAnn) Nelson; several cousins, nieces, nephews and her special friend, Pat.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Jim Dunn; daughter-in-law Sherry Dunn; brothers, Don (Cathy) Nelson and Gary Nelson; and an infant son.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, November 13, 2021 at United Lutheran Church, 324 Chestnut St. Grand Forks, ND. Visitation:  1 hour prior to service. Memorials: the family prefers memorials given to United Lutheran Church.