Mildred Sanders

Mildred Sanders

Mildred Lillian Sanders, 79, Bismarck, passed away on Jan. 9, 2008, at home. Services will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Bismarck, with the Rev. Steve Sathre officiating. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery, Bismarck.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. today at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck, and continue one hour prior to the service at the church.

Millie was born Sept. 4, 1928, on a farm in Good Hope Township near Ada, Minn., the daughter of Arne and Ida Aalgaard. Growing up on the farm, her initial education was in a one-room schoolhouse. She then attended and graduated from high school in Halstad, Minn., later working at the Ada Bank. She also hand-tinted and colored photographs for her father's photography studio in Ada, a skill she developed into watercolor painting later in life.

In 1946, she married John J. Sanders from Ada and had two sons, Robert and Paul. In 1960, the family moved to Bismarck, becoming a part of a welcoming and close-knit neighborhood near Hillside Park. Once the boys were old enough, she started work for the Bismarck Public School system for 23 years as a secretary for the Superintendent of Schools, until retiring in 1991. She was awarded Secretary of the Year in 1988.

A regular attendee of Trinity Lutheran Church, she often volunteered for church functions. She also enjoyed sewing and produced a number of fine quilts for family and close relatives. Highlights included trips to the Holy Land and Norway, and to various relatives across the U.S.

She is survived by her sons, Robert (Connie) Sanders, Orlando, Fla., and Paul Sanders, Laramie, Wyo.; a brother, George (Jane) Aalgaard, Ada, Minn.; and her grandchildren, Rain (Reid) Sanders Westgard, Winter Sanders and Crystal Sanders, all of Orlando.

She was preceded in death by her husband, John Sanders; her parents; one sister, Thelma Aalgaard Anderson; and one brother, Erling Aalgaard.

Memorials can be given to the American Cancer Society.

Go to http://www.eastgatefuneral.com to share memories of Mildred and sign the online guest book.