Thomas J. Myhra

Thomas J. Myhra, 88, of

Fridley, MN, passed away

peacefully and quietly,

surrounded by family, at

St. Cloud Hospital (St.

Cloud, MN) on December

30, 2017. Although

motivated and committed

to a rigorous rehabilita-

tion program after emer-

gency hip replacement

surgery on December 5,

2017, his physical body

simply was not up to the

challenge.

Tom, the son of Walter

and Helen Gaheen Myhra,

was born on May 15,

1929, in Noonan, ND, a

small town in

northwestern North Dako-

ta. His father was a farmer

and his mother, after at-

tending college at Minot

Normal School, was a

teacher in a rural Upland

Township school, teach-

ing the first through the

eighth grades. After mar-

rying, his parents lived

and farmed in the Upland

and Frazier Townships.

Tom and his ten siblings

experienced a rich family

life on the farm notwith-

standing the many chal-

lenges of the Great

Depression.

He attended Highland

No. 1, a one-room rural

school, for grades one

through eight, and then

moved into town to attend

Crosby (ND) High School.

During his high school

years, he lived indepen-

dently, spending his time

studying and working at

the dime store. He gra-

duated from high school

in 1947. Post-high school,

he worked a range of jobs,

including farm work, ac-

counting work, serving as

an assistant county agent

for the 4-H Club, working

as a civil engineer for the

Rural Electric Association,

and working for the U.S.

Soil Conservation Service.

In 1951, during the Kore-

an War, he was drafted

into the U.S. Army, and

was assigned to an en-

gineer topographic bat-

talion and sent to Alaska

to make maps.

After mustering out of

the Army in 1953, he en-

rolled at Minot State

Teacher’s College to study

English, history, and

secondary education.

While attending college

he met and married fellow

student Gloria Urness in

1955. They both graduat-

ed in 1957 and they both

went on to teach in Velva,

ND, Vermillion, SD, Ra-

cine, WI, and Fridley,

MN. While living in Ver-

million, Tom pursued his

passion for history, focus-

ing on steamboat naviga-

tion on the Upper Mis-

souri River. He obtained

his Master’s Degree in his-

tory from the University

of South Dakota in 1959.

Thereafter, he pursued a

Ph.D. in curriculum and

instruction at the Univer-

sity of Minnesota.

Tom spent the bulk of

his professional career

working for Independent

School District No.14 in

Fridley, MN. He was a

lifelong student, with a

passion for reading, writ-

ing, and politics, as well

as a lifelong teacher. After

teaching for four years at

the Fridley Senior High

School, he was selected as

the District’s Curriculum

Coordinator in 1967. He

served in that position un-

til he retired in 1990. Tom

was also very active in the

Fridley Community. He

belonged to many organi-

zations and served on

numerous political, city,

and church committees.

In addition to his varied

community activities,

Tom loved family,

friends, and get-togethers,

the more people the

better. He loved to travel

to visit relatives and

friends. He loved to go to

the family cabin just out-

side of Minneapolis and

he loved even more to

spend time at his wife’s

childhood home in Alka-

bo, ND. He viewed sum-

mers in North Dakota as

idyllic because he was

close to his childhood

roots, Crosby siblings,

lifelong friends, and farm-

ing. Whether at home, the

cabin, or North Dakota,

though, he relished work-

ing on his lawn, tending

to his flowers, building

fences, or simply doing

chores. He was a devoted

Minot State University

Beaver. He loved picnics

and he loved ice cream.

He loved to send birthday

cards, which included

letters, to his extended

family, including his

many nieces and

nephews. And he did so

right up to his surgery in

early December.

He was preceded in

death by: his wife, Gloria

C. Urness Myhra; his

parents, Walter and Helen

Gaheen Myhra; his sister,

Iown Olson (and her hus-

band, Clifford); his broth-

er, Clayton Myhra (and

his wife, DeLoris); his

brother, Lloyd Myhra (and

his wife, Margaret); his

sister, Lorelie Unhjem

(and her husband, Kal-

mer); his brother, Burnell

Myhra (and his wife, Al-

ice); his sister, Yvonne

Cooper (and her husband,

Jack); his brother, Donald

Myhra; and two

brothers-in-law Anthony

Fleck and Robert Benter.

Tom is survived by: his

children, Alison Myhra

(Lubbock, TX), Karla

Myhra-Bloom (Sartell,

MN), and Kirk Myhra

(Fridley, MN); his son-in

law, Geoff Bloom (Sartell,

MN); his daughter-in-law,

Sherri Novitsky Myhra

(Fridley, MN); his

grandchildren, Ryan

Bloom (Fridley, MN), El-

len Bloom (Newark, DE),

Morgan Myhra (Brooklyn

Park, MN), and Lauren

Myhra (Minneapolis,

MN); three sisters, Shirley

Fleck (Crosby, ND), Jane

Benter (Crosby, ND), and

Faye Smith (Bay City, MI);

one brother-in-law, War-

ren Smith (Bay City, MI);

and one sister-in-law,

Margie Myhra (Billings,

MT).

A funeral service will

be held on Monday, June

25, 2018, at 11:00 a.m., at

Writing Rock Lutheran

Church in Alkabo, ND.

Interment will follow in

the Writing Rock

Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers,

memorials may be made

to the Helen Gaheen

Myhra Scholarship Fund

at Minot State University.

Condolences may be of-

fered at 4811-78th Street,

Lubbock, TX, 79424.

Stakston-Martin Fun-

eral Home of Crosby, ND

is in charge of arrange-

ments.