Rebecca Rud

Rebecca Rud, age 103, of Fosston, MN, passed away on Sunday, November 28th, at Essentia Health Lilving Center in Fosston. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 7th, at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Columbia Township, rural Bagley, with the Rev. Jane Ekholm officiating. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the service on Tuesday (7th) at the church. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service of Fosston and messages of condolence may be shared at www.carlinfuneral.com. Mask use at the funeral service is recommended.

Rebecca Louise (Sovick) Rud was born on May 26th, 1918 in Columbia Township to parents Hans and Hilda (Solberg) Sovick. Rebecca attended the Maple Hill School where Rebecca completed the 8th Grade. Rebecca attended Church known as The St. Peters Lutheran Church on the farm which later became the Sovick Century Farm.

Rebecca started working out at an early age helping out doing house work and helping invalid people. She was always cheerful and they always liked her company and friendship.

She worked at several places later. She worked at the Fosston potato plant for several years and for the Polk County Nursing Service as a Home Health Aide working with a RN with the County Nursing Service for 5 years and then later, took a job in the local hospital for 14 ½ years in the housekeeping area. Then she signed up for the Green Thumb program and worked in the Senior Craft doing sales work and bookkeeping for 8 years also helping one season at the elementary school library. After this time and thoughts for retiring, she worked part time at the Community Center. At the age of 80, she decided to retire.

Rebecca enjoyed flowers and shrubbery and kept up her yard. She enjoyed Country and Gospel Music.

Rebecca Married Edwin Rud in March 1940. They farmed for several years until they sold their farm and moved to Fosston. They became members of the Fosston Baptist Church. Edwin passed away in February, 1983.

Rebecca’s Obituary Continued by Son Erwin Rud

Rebecca passed away from suddenly declining health on Sunday afternoon, November 28, 2021 at the age of 103 years, 6 months and 2 days.

During her life, Rebecca survived the first pandemic in 1918-1919, saw women get the right to vote in 1922, saw radios, phones and cars becoming new technologies, endured the economic hardships of the depression 1930’s that had hot, dry summer weather and bitter cold winters including one deadly fall blizzard with her home farm family that had an older sister Evelyn, older brothers Harold, twins Carl and Clifford, Leonard and her own twin sister Ruth and a younger sister Helen. Then came the WWII years where two brothers served to stop world fascism, one of which survived 2 years in an Italian-German prison camp after a 1942 North African capture. Rebecca witnessed the first working vaccines for polio and rubella, a second ongoing pandemic with working vaccines, as well more technology advances like television, space travel and computers amidst the growing threats of climate change.

A daughter, Delores (Rud) Grundyson, was born in 1940 and predeceased Rebecca in 2010. One other child, a surviving son Erwin Rud, was born in 1949. Both Erwin and a cat named Vicky Cat Rud, born in 2008, helped Rebecca during her later years both at home and after she went to First Care Living Center in 2016. They will miss Rebecca’s ability to remember the many family birthdays

Also surviving are Delores’ husband, Rebecca’s son-in-law, Melford Grundyson, granddaughter Melanie (Grundyson) Olinger with Husband Mark and Great-Granddaughter, Melissa (Olinger) Skaalerud with husband Jonathan and 2 Great-Great grandchildren, Scarlett and Stellan; and a Grandson Perry Grundyson with his friend, Renee.

Son Erwin’s children includes Rebecca’s Granddaughter Kari (Rud) Schneckloth with husband Eric and Great-Grandson Samuel and Great-Granddaughter Alaina; Grandson Austen Rud with his friend, Susan; and Granddaughter Holly (Rud) Heinz with husband Jon.

Treated like her Children, Rebecca had 2 surviving nieces with Grace Borud and Sylvia (Borud) Larson and 2 nephews with Wesley Trulson and Maurice Borud, many other grand and great-grand nieces and nephews and in-law nieces and nephews.

Rebecca was the last of her third-generation Norwegian family that had been among the first settlers in the Columbia Township and Lengby areas. She was a beautiful person who will be missed by many she met in her life.