Elda Evenson

Elda Evenson, 90,

Minot, died Wednesday,

April 24, 2019 in a Minot

nursing home.

Elda Erna Laugsand

Evenson was born on No-

vember 21, 1928 in Bot-

tineau County, North

Dakota, to George and

Erna (Schultz) Laugsand.

She was baptized on De-

cember 25, 1928. Elda was

raised on the family farm

northeast of Bottineau.

She attended Bottineau

Public Schools, receiving

her GED later in life. Elda

married Bernard Clair

Evenson on April 4, 1948,

in Bottineau. They en-

joyed 48 years of marriage

until Clair’s death on Au-

gust 3, 1996.

Elda and Clair owned

and managed many res-

taurants over the years in

various ND towns and

later moved the family to

Wyoming from 1960-

1964. They returned to

Bottineau and managed

the Blue Diamond Cafe

until 1968, at which time

Elda and Clair moved to

Minot, purchasing a home

that was Elda’s pride and

joy.

Elda began working as

an apprentice upholsterer

for Lloyd Kirkeide at

Lloyd’s Upholstery and

eventually bought the

business with a business

partner. She became the

sole owner of Lloyd’s

Upholstery in 1976 and

continued to own and

operate it until 1986. She

loved doing upholstery

work, and maintained a

small upholstery shop at

her home in northwest

Minot until 2010, called

Elda’s Cottage of Interiors.

In 1984, Elda and Clair,

along with their sons, Vir-

gil and Mitch, built the

Expressway Laundromat/

Car Wash/RV Park, which

continues to this day, 35

years later. Elda was in-

strumental in managing

the business until 2010, at

which time she was diag-

nosed with an onset of

dementia. This was furth-

er exacerbated due to the

flood of 2011. She lost her

home and many treasured

possessions which took a

toll and continued

through the remainder of

her life.

Elda was a skilled

upholsterer, making sure

that her work met her

standards, as well as her

customers. She took great

pride in her home work-

ing endlessly in her yard.

At the age of 67, and fol-

lowing Clair’s death, Elda

was energized to purchase

and renovate rental pro-

perties. She maintained a

5 plex in northeast Minot,

as well as converted her

downtown commercial

property to an 11 unit

apartment complex.

Elda was very energetic,

hardworking, and rarely

took time for a break. She

thought everyone should

work as hard as she did

and wanted to see her

family succeed. She was

an excellent business

woman, who tended to

the laundromat with an

iron hand and had a great

mind for numbers. Elda

loved to sew anything

from upholstering furni-

ture to making pillows,

placemats, table runners,

curtains, or helping her

granddaughter sew a Hal-

loween costume. She en-

joyed baking apple pies,

making dolls, crocheting

afghans, or finding some-

thing to reupholster for

every family member.

Above all else she was a

wonderful parent, grand-

parent, and a good friend

to many.

When dementia started

to take her mind, she was

cared for by many kind

people who always had

wonderful things to say

about her. Her family

wishes to thank her many

caregivers for their care

and compassion.

Elda’s loving family in-

cludes: her sons, Virg

(Connie), Casa Grande,

AZ, Mitch (Lois), Minot,

and daughter Lona Even-

son Reiter, Bismarck, son

in law Randy Reiter,

Surrey, 9 grandchildren,

12 great-grandchildren,

and 2 great-great-grand-

children; brother Marvin

(Faye) Laugsand, Bot-

tineau; many nieces,

nephews, and friends.

Elda was preceded in

death by her husband

Clair, grandson Joel,

brother Arnold, and infant

brother Karl.

Celebration of Life Ser-

vice: 11:00 a.m. Monday,

April 29, 2019 at Thomas

Family Funeral Home,

Minot.

Interment: Sunset

Memorial Gardens, Minot.

Visitation: Sunday,

April 28, 2019 from 1:00

p.m. until 3:00 p.m. in the

funeral home.

Memorials are preferred

to the Sons of Norway or

Norsk Hostfest.

Memories and con-

dolences can be shared at

www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com.