Orrel Buringrud

Orrel Frances Buringrud, 92, died Nov. 13, 2011, at St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck. She had resided at Edgewood Vista Village in Bismarck since June 2010, after moving there from Fargo to be closer to family.

Orrel was born in Hillsboro on Feb. 2, 1919, to Seymour Anderson and Ellen (Paulson) Carlson. She graduated from Hillsboro High School as the class valedictorian in 1936. After graduation, she worked for the Traill County Extension office in Hillsboro as a secretary for four years.

On Feb. 15, 1941, Orrel was united in marriage to Edwin Buringrud in Crookston, Minn. Together, the couple made their home near Grandin, where they farmed and raised their three children. During these years, Orrel was an active member of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Hillsboro, Ladies' Aid and Circle, Homemakers Club and also was a Sunday school teacher and a 4-H leader. Orrel dearly loved her family and instilled in them the significance of a good education and the love for music and reading. She devoted many hours in providing her children the opportunity to participate in many activities in Hillsboro and Fargo, besides being a full-time farm wife.

Orrel and Ed moved to Fargo in 1970 and commuted to the farm, until they retired from active farming in 1984. Never giving up on her typing and shorthand skills, Orrel resumed work as a secretary and worked for the State Board of Hairdressers in Fargo for four years and part-time for North Dakota State University for 10 years. To appease Ed's dislike of North Dakota winters with the snow and the cold, they spent 17 winters in Mesa, Ariz., until Ed's death in 2001. Orrel continued to manage their home in Fargo and the farm for nine years, until she decided to relocate to Bismarck.

Orrel believed that satisfaction in life came from doing one thing absolutely right which far outweighed the value of a thousand slipshod jobs. "It's not the quantity but the quality we should strive for in our work." She was known for her organizational skills and always looked for ways to manage her home or do a job more efficiently. She loved to sew clothes for her children and grandchildren and also was an active member of First Lutheran Church's quilting group in Fargo, as well as a quilting group in Mesa. While wintering in Arizona, Orrel took up oil painting and blessed many homes of family and friends with her beautiful paintings, leaving a lasting memory of her.

Orrel is survived by her two daughters, Joan, Minneapolis, and Jill (Norman) Weigel, Bismarck; one son, Jay (Linda), Bismarck; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Edwin; her parents; a stepmother, Edith Anderson; a stepfather, Gus Carlson; a sister, Dorothy Hansen; a brother, Dean "Buddy" Paulson; and a grandson, Wes.

Services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, at First Lutheran Church, Fargo. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Fargo.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Korsmo Funeral Chapel, Moorhead, Minn.

Online guest book: www.korsmofuneralservice.com.