Kirstin Skari

MINOT -- Kirstin Skari, 19, Minot, and also a student at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, died July 10, 1999, in a St. Cloud medical center as a result of encephalitis. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursdayat Christ Lutheran Church, Minot. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens, Minot.

Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot.

Kirstin was born on Sept. 25, 1979 in Bismarck, to David and Arlyss (Solberg) Skari. She was baptized in Bismarck, at the House of Prayer Church, and in 1983, moved to Jamestown with her family. She attended elementary school and one year of junior high in Jamestown. While living there she was active in many activities and was also a member of Atonement Lutheran Church, where she was active in the youth group. During elementary school, she attended Concordia Language Camp during the two-week summer sessions.

In 1993, she moved with her family to Minot. She attended eighth grade at Erik Ramstad and then attended Central Campus and Magic City Campus, graduating in 1998. During high school, she was a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Club and Key Club. She was on the Minot High Golf team, on which she earned two varsity letters, competing in 1996 and 1997 at the North Dakota State Girls Golf Tournament and was also a member of the Minot High Girls Tennis Team. She played clarinet in the Minot High Band, which traveled to Orlando, Fla. to compete in a national band competition, her senior year. She attended International Music Camp two different summers. She also had the opportunity to travel to Europe with the Humanities Club in the summer of 1997 and to Washington D.C. for "Close Up." In 1996, she was named an All-American Scholar, by the United States Achievement Academy.

In 1992, 1993 and 1996, the Skari's hosted a Cultural Exchange Student from Mexico, named Mercy. She and Kirstin became special friends.

From Nov. 1995 until August of 1996, Kirstin worked at Rax, from August 1996 until Dec. 1997, she worked at Scheels, and from Dec. 1997 until July 1998, she worked at Vanity, all in Minot. Kirstin also volunteered as a candy striper at Trinity Hospital for a time.

In the fall of 1998, she attended the University of North Dakota, where she completed her freshman year. At UND, she was a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Societies. She was also a member of the Student Association, Greek Panhellenic Council, and a member of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority where she was currently serving as Historian, all at UND.

She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church, Minot, and was very active in the youth group, hand bell choir and the woodwind ensemble there. She was confirmed there in 1995.

Kirstin was an exceptional pianist for 13 years. She earned the opportunity to compete in the National Federation of Junior Festivals in 1993 in Valley City, 1996 and 1997, both in Minot, by achieving continuous suprior ratings at piano festival competitions. She earned three Gold Cups.

She is survived by her parents, David and Arlyss Skari, Minot; her maternal grandmother, Mildred Solberg, Stanley; her paternal grandmother, Selma Aanrud, Velva; her cultural exchange sister, Mercy Oregon, San Juan del Rio, Queretaro, Mexico.

Memorials are preferred to the Kirstin Skari Memorial Scholarship Fund, 2512 Bel Air Place, Minot, 58703, Christ Lutheran Church or to a charity of the donor's choice. (Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot)