Laura Strandness

Laura Strandness East Lansing Laura Strandness, 96, died quietly in her home on April 16, 2010. The family would like to thank all of her caregivers for their untiring compassion and devotion to Laura's welfare during the past several years. The youngest of nine children born to Gamaliel and Katrin Thorleifsson, Laura was raised on their farm in Gardar, North Dakota, the Icelandic American community to which her parents had immigrated in 1891. She remained a proud Icelander who cherished the sagas and guided her life by Icelandic values, including integrity, independent thinking, and love of language. Laura attended Gardar's one-room schoolhouse, then high school in Park River, ND. A talented pianist, she inherited the family gift for playing by ear, and she and her brothers played at area dances on weekends. During the Depression, Laura worked alternate years to earn money to attend Jamestown College, where she majored in music and held leading roles in many student plays. In a production of "Hamlet," she met her future husband, Theodore Benson (Ben) Strandness, when she played Ophelia and he played Hamlet. After college, she taught music and English in public high schools in North Dakota and Minnesota before marrying Ben, then a Navy first lieutenant. While he served in the Pacific, she lived in San Francisco and then Minneapolis, where her daughter Jean was born. In 1946 the family moved to East Lansing, where daughters Linda and Patricia were born. Here Laura taught private piano lessons while Ben taught in the American Thought & Language Department at Michigan State University. In those early years both acted in productions of the Lansing Civic Players. Later Laura found fulfillment working as an academic adviser at MSU for many years. She was also a supporter of the university's music program, regularly attending MSU Symphony concerts and faculty recitals. A committed Democrat and feminist, she took an active interest in politics and was a member of the League of Women Voters, serving one year as secretary. She was devoted to her family's wellbeing, and when Ben's health became unstable, her resilience helped keep him going. Laura will be missed by her family and friends, who will remember her for her convictions, her candor, her penetrating insights, her way with words, her droll wit, and her musical talent. She was preceded in death by her parents, her eight siblings, and her husband Ben. She is survived by her three daughters, Jean Strandness (Robert O'Connor), Linda Gregorian (Leon), and Patricia Strandness (Bruce Shnider); four grandchildren, Ara Gregorian, Ani Resnick (Brian), Alicia Gregorian, and Ruth Shnider; and three great-grandchildren, Aidan, Maxwell, and Amelia Resnick. Memorial contributions may be sent to either the "MSU Symphony Orchestra Enhancement Fund" or the "Ralph Votapek Endowed Scholarship in Piano Performance Fund" of the MSU College of Music. This obituary may be found online at gorslineruncimaneastlansing.com.