Francis Myran

Francis Myran age 91 of Decorah, IA passed away on Friday, March 21, 2025, at Aase Haugen Senior Services in Decorah surrounded by friends and family.
Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 28, 2025, at Helms Funeral Home, 306 E. Water St. in Decorah. He will be buried next to his wife in the Coon Valley Lutheran Cemetery in Coon Valley, WI with full military rites.
Visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. until the time of service at the funeral home on Friday.
Memorials may be made to the Madison Lutheran Cemetery Association in memory of Francis.
Francis Earl Myran was born May 14, 1933, to Elias and Agnes Myran in Silverton Oregon. When Francis was three years old the family moved back to the family homestead in Madison Township in Winneshiek County.
Elias, Agnes, and family began farming with Francis's grandfather and uncles on the Myran property. In addition to farming, they had a sawmill and a blacksmith business. As a child Francis learned the value of hard work by being given a block of wood to stand upon so he could turn the crank on the post drill and also the fan crank on the forge in their blacksmith shop. While growing up Francis became an active 4-H Club member, and he won several ribbons for his livestock projects.
While attending Decorah High School his car became the school bus for the Madison neighborhood, and he drove students to and from Decorah school. In 1960 Francis was drafted to serve his country for 2 years in the US Army. He spent much of his time in Germany as a tank turret mechanic.
Upon returning home he dedicated himself to raising livestock and crops on the family farm. He also operated the family sawmill, sawing thousands of board feet of lumber for many buildings in the Madison area. For many years he did custom corn harvesting and chopping.
All through his life he was guided by the values he learned from his family and the caring community of Norwegian farmers. The hub of this community was the Madison Church. Francis served his church in many capacities. He was a council member, and he even dug many graves by hand for the Madison Cemetery. Francis was always ready to help a neighbor if needed. His roots ran deep in faith, family, and community.
While attending a Decorah dance class he met the love of his life Ardelle Nauste while she was attending Luther College to become a teacher. They were married at the Madison Church on August 5, 1962. Francis and Ardelle continued to live and farm in Madison township until they moved to Aase Haugen care facility.
Ardelle and Francis graciously invited John Clauson to join their family as a foster son. They took the role of being foster parents seriously and mentored John. They even bought a camper and went on family trips. When John had his own family, they continued to support them. They enjoyed having John and Cathy's children come and stay with them on the farm. Francis loved taking them fishing, teaching them tractor driving skills, and sharing with them his goofy sense of humor!
Francis and Ardelle enjoyed day trips and going to visit relatives and family. They even went to Norway to visit relatives and stay in a family cabin near the sea.
Francis is survived by his sister: Mae Short (Donald), VA, sister-in-law: Barbara Myran (Arnold), IN. He also is survived by many nephews and nieces.
Francis was preceded in death by his wife: Ardelle, Parents: Elias and Agnes(Sunde), Brother: Arnold, and brother-in-law: Donald Short.