Leone Ohnstad

The funeral service for Leone Ohnstad will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 27, at All Saints Lutheran Church, 5 S. Main, Clancy, with the Revs. I.C. Gronneberg and Lynn DeYoung officiating. Memorials may be sent in Leone's name to the All Saints Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 98, Clancy, MT 59634; or to a charity of the donor's choice. Local arrangements have been entrusted to Hagler-Anderson Funeral Home.

Harry and Alma Nyberg were thrilled on Oct. 10, 1917, when their newborn daughter, Leone, joined them and their 3-year-old, Hildegarde, on their farm north of Ray, N.D. Life was great! Grace abundant! On Dec. 16, they hitched-up the horses and braved the elements for the mile-and-a-quarter ride to Rainbow Valley Lutheran Church to celebrate her baptism and birth into the family of God. She grew up a farm girl, working and playing with her parents and sister, and, after a couple years, a new sister, Ardell.

On July 31, 1932, she was confirmed in her faith in the Lord. She attended a county school near the church and later High School in Ray, graduating as salutatorian. Waiting in a cafe in Ray, she met a couple of wise men from the East, one of whom became the love of her life.

She and Erick A. Ohnstad were married on Dec. 2, 1937, and moved east to Petersburg, N.D., where they began their married life. They decided not to be farmers and Erick became a mechanic, as they began their family. They were blessed with two children, Bob and Myrna. As the years went by, they moved to Devils Lake, then to Helena. They even moved for a few months to Seattle. One day it quit raining a few minutes and they threw their belongings in a trailer, and headed back to Helena. Lesson learned? You can move too far west!

Other than a four-year move to Forsyth, they spent the rest of their years in Helena and Clancy and loved it! As the children grew, Leone decided to work outside the home as well. She picked potatoes in the Valley, worked for Eddy's Bakery SFN, clerked at Coast to Coast and worked for the state of Montana in the Bureau of Records and Statistics, retiring in 1979.

Those who knew her sense of humor, quick wit, quiet smile and loving care certainly understand her love of life, her grasp of grace and her capacity to survive!

Leone is preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Hildegarde Anderson and Ardell Daniel; and son-in-law, Bob Rudio.

She is survived by her son, Bob; daughter, Myrna (Rudio) of Clancy; grandchildren, Arik (Jenni) Ohnstad of Nashville, Tenn., Kjerstin Ohnstad of Minneapolis, Karen (Rudio) Ditchey, Mark Rudio, Pam (Rudio) Novak, all of Clancy; six great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.