VaLois Mandsager

VaLois Mandsager age 82 of Northfield, MN (formerly of Decorah, IA) passed away on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at Wellington Place in Decorah.
Funeral services will be Saturday, December 7, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at First Lutheran Church, 604 W. Broadway, Decorah, with Rev. David Severtson presiding.
Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until the time of service at the church on Saturday.
The service will be live-streamed at the following link: https://youtube.com/live/ip08D1tmZ70
VaLois Elaine (Ellingson) Mandsager was born September 11, 1942, in Decorah, Iowa to Ruth (Fretheim) and Darwin Ellingson. As a girl she spent more than a year living with her Grandma and Grandpa Ellingson on their farm north of Decorah while her mother went to beauty school in Waterloo. While living with her grandparents, she attended country school where her aunt Vernelle was her teacher. VaLois learned to read at a very young age and has been a life-long lover of books. After her family moved to a house on Washington Street in Decorah, she enjoyed walking to the Decorah Public Library and checking out a stack of books every week.
She graduated from Decorah High School in 1960 and went on to Luther College, where she studied English and Education. She graduated from Luther in the spring of 1964. She married David Carlson in December of 1962. Together they had four daughters: Jennifer, Beth, Amy, Anne-Alise. She once told her granddaughter that her favorite decade of life was her 30's, when she was a busy stay-at-home mom raising her four daughters. Several times a week VaLois gathered for afternoon coffee with her mother and sister Diane. The kids would join them after school for a home-baked treat. VaLois was famous in her family for her fantastic pie crust and must have baked thousands of cookies for her family over the years.
After her divorce in 1983, VaLois briefly owned the Armory Bookstore in Decorah. She married Orlin Mandsager in July of 1984. In 1990 she moved to Owatonna, MN, where Orlin took a call at Trinity Lutheran Church. After that they moved to Burnsville, MN and then to Northfield, MN where she lived until she moved to Wellington Place Memory Care in July 2022. Over the years, she and Orlin traveled to many places and spent quality time at their cabin in northern Minnesota. Being out in nature brought her joy. Until the end she appreciated the beauty of trees, flowers and birds.
One of her primary joys in life was welcoming and nurturing her grandchildren. She made special lovey blankets for all of them when they were born. With the birth of each new grandchild, she would come to stay and help care for the new baby and new mother. She would cook, bake and do laundry but mostly she wanted to sit and hold the new baby! As families grew, she found special ways to be a part of their lives.
VaLois had a beautiful soprano voice that she shared in high school musicals, choirs, church and singing to her grandchildren. She was an active volunteer at Luther College Women's Club and various Lutheran churches. She enjoyed quilting, golfing, going for walks, and a vodka tonic at happy hour.
She is survived by her husband, Orlin Mandsager, her sisters Diane (Larry) Grimstad, Roxann Steine, her daughters, Jennifer (John) Lembezeder, Beth (Tom) Wahlberg, Amy Bruening, Anne-Alise (Seth) Muir, her stepchildren, Kris (Neeta) Mandsager, Mike (April) Mandsager, Naomi Mandsager (Chuck Bartley), Elizabeth Mandsager. Grandchildren, Jacob (Kelsie) Lembezeder, Molly (Derick) Ludwig, Nick Lembezeder, Anders Wahlberg, Annika Wahlberg, Michael Bruening, Katherine Bruening, Rebecca Bruening, Sophie Muir, Isabella Muir, Liam Muir, Finn Muir, Nathan Mandsager, Julia (Tim) Komatsu, Erik Mandsager, Jacob Mandsager, Noah Mandsager, Lars Bartley, Aiden Mandsager and great-grandchildren, Maya Komatsu, and baby Ludwig due Dec. 25. Sisters-in-law Orpha Erdahl and Ruth Hembre, many special nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.
In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials go to the Alzheimer's Association or Luther College.