Loris "Lori" Hilde

Lori Hilde, age 93, died Thursday, February 13, 2025 at Sanford Fargo Hospice House in Fargo, ND. Loris Irene Hilde was born May 19, 1931 to Clarence and Edna (Rhoades) Howe in Brainerd, MN. Lori (her preferred name) the oldest of five children, grew up on a dairy farm near Backus, MN and helped with household chores, farm chores and gardening. Her schooling began in a one room country school located about a half mile from home, which she attended through 6th grade. Then it was off to town school riding the bus to Backus, about ten miles from their farm.
At age 19, Lori had a job as a nanny working for a family with three children and also did meal preparation. Later she worked as a waitress in Van's Café in Brainerd, MN. After two years, Lori went to Minneapolis and attended the Minnesota School of Business and later, was employed at Hartford Insurance as a typist. One weekend, in the summer of 1957, she decided to visit a friend in Brainerd, MN. She missed the first bus so she boarded the second bus going to Brainerd. One of the last people she noticed to board the bus was a handsome young man. The bus was very crowded but there was one seat left and he sat down beside her. He said his name was Dave Hilde and had been mapping soils in the Brainerd area for the University of Minnesota. He had just returned the pickup truck to the St, Paul Campus and was now going to Brainerd to get his car and then on to Ulen, MN. They had a pleasant conversation that prompted him to offer Lori a ride back to Minneapolis. She agreed to the offer which led to future dates when they were both back in Minneapolis. Dave was completing the requirements for a Master of Science degree and Lori became involved in typing term papers for him. He graduated in March 1958 and they were married April 19, 1958 in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church near Backus, MN. The couple was blessed with three children: Mark, Sandra and Lisa.
Lori and Dave's first home was in Lewisville, MN where he worked as Assistant Manager of the Tilney Farms. Their son Mark was born in Madelia, MN October 20, 1959. In 1962, her husband, Dave, was offered a job as Agronomist with American Crystal Sugar Company. Daughter Sandra was born in Grand Forks, ND January 12, 1962. Lori and Dave bought a ten acre farm home near Minto, ND. Daughter Lisa was born in Grafton, ND September 21, 1965. Lori was primarily a homemaker and also worked part time with the Minto school lunch program. She was an excellent seamstress and sewed many of her children's clothes plus her own clothes. She also sewed a lot of doll clothes for daughters Sandy and Lisa. Lori enjoyed crocheting afgans and made many including one for each of her grandchildren. During this time, Lori also sold Tupperware and Avon products. She was a very good salesperson and had customers on both the North Dakota and Minnesota side of the Red River Valley. Lori and family were members of the Grafton Lutheran Church.
In 1979, the family moved to Fargo, ND. Lori immediately went to work selling Avon and covered a large area in North Fargo. She managed her finances well and was proud to buy special furniture for the home. Lori and Dave are members of Hope Lutheran Church in North Fargo. Lori was very active in church activities. She taught first and second grade Sunday school for several years. She also belonged to a women's circle, Bible study group and a prayer group. Lori and husband Dave also volunteered as greeters on Sunday mornings. Lori's faith in Jesus was an important part of her life and she had a gift for hospitality. She loved hosting people in her home and also gave meals to people in need. Lori was a very loving and caring person. While in the hospital, she prayed for her nurses, whom she called her "angels" and said "God Bless You", when they left her room!
Lori retired from selling Avon in 1997 when Dave retired from American Crystal Sugar Company. Lori and Dave loved to travel and visited many states including Hawaii. They also were "snowbirds" and spent winters in California. In July 1998, Lori and Dave went on a five week trip to Norway. They visited the area near Eidsberg, Norway where Lori's grandparents lived before immigrating to America. From there, they travelled to Flå Hallingdal to visit Dave's relatives. They saw the places that his grandparents lived before they came to America. Lori and Dave became active members of the Hallinglag of America and went on three more Hallinglag tours to Norway. Lori enrolled in a Norwegian language class at the Sons of Norway Lodge in Fargo, ND and became proficient in speaking Norwegian. On one of the trips to Norway, one relative remarked that "she speaks better Norwegian now than the first time she was here"! Lori was very impressed with the beautiful bunads (native costumes) from the various regions in Norway. On one Norway tour, she bought a Halling bunad in Gol, Norway. She proudly wore it at every annual Hallinglag stevne.
Lori is survived by her husband, Dave; her son, Mark (Catherine); daughters, Sandra (Jeff) and Lisa (Wayne); three grandsons: John, Josiah and Davin; four granddaughters: Makala (Jake), Jessica, Emily and Sierra; two great-grandsons: Miles and Silas; two great-granddaughters: Ella and Esme; her sister, Joyce (Richard); her brothers: Gary (Vicki) and Donald (Kaye); brother-in-law, Donald Hilde. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Clarence Jr.; sisters-in-law, Shirley Howe, Merna Hilde, Irene Hilde and Kaye Hilde; brothers-in-law: Leslie Hilde and Victor Hilde; niece, Marla Gellerman; nephews: Mark and Mike Howe.
Blessed be the memory of Lori Hilde
A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at 2:00 pm, with a visitation one hour before, at Hope Lutheran Church ~ North Campus in Fargo. Burial will take place at West Bethlehem Cemetery in Ulen, MN.