Vera Bjorklund, age 87, of Howard, formerly of Madison, passed away Friday, March 15, 2013 at the Howard Good Samaritan Center at Howard. Funeral services will begin at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. The Rev. Terry Knudson will officiate at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Orland, SD. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Public visitation will begin at 1:00 PM, Monday at the Randall Funeral Home with a prayer service beginning at 7:00 PM. Visitation will resume one hour prior to the funeral at the church on Tuesday.
Vera Lavon Goodale was born February 16, 1926, at Dell Rapids, SD. She grew up in the communities of Dell Rapids, Colman, Rutland, Orland, Baltic, and Russell and Ruthton, MN.
On January 31, 1950, Vera married Dennis Bjorklund, at Pipestone, MN. later moving to a farm near Orland in Lake County. Together, she and Dennis farmed and raised their family. In addition to farm life, Vera worked at the Bethel Lutheran Home, North American Baptist Home (Golden Living), both in Madison, and the Odd Fellows Home in Dell Rapids. She and Dennis later moved to a home in Canova.
She was a member of the St. Peter Lutheran Church at Orland, SD.
Vera had most recently been a resident of the Howard Good Samaritan Center.
Those left to Cherish her memory are her children: Jim (Joyce) Bjorklund, Madison, SD; Pamela (Scott) Thompson, Doland, SD; Beverly (Brian) Kerierleber, Independence, IA; Denise Norman, Madison, SD; Roxie Draper, Canova, SD; 13 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren; and a sister Joyce (Don) Fargen, Bemidji, MN.
She was preceded in death by her husband Dennis in 1994, a son Bruce, two brothers and twin sisters in infancy.