Mae Bernice Branvold Thallander

Stockton, CA

May 27, 1915 - July 26, 2006

Mae Bernice Branvold Thallander, 91, died Wednesday, July 26, 2006, at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, California, while recovering from pneumonia. She lived in Stockton for 50 years.

Mae Thallander was born in Gilby, North Dakota, on May 27, 1915, the daughter of Christina (Bondevick) and Nels Even Branvold. She graduated from Central High School in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in 1933. Mae worked during and following high school in Grand Forks, and from 1937-1938 in Beverly Hills and Pasadena, California.

Mae returned to Grand Forks and married Wilfred Lasse Emmanuel Thallander on September 3, 1938, in the Swedish Mission Covenant Church. A devoted follower of Christ, Mae was involved in the music ministry of the Grand Forks Gospel Tabernacle radio broadcast. She moved with her family to Stockton in 1956, and became active as a Sunday school teacher and Women's Missionary Council leader at Calvary Tabernacle. From 1964 until 1985. Mae served in various leadership roles at Lincoln Neighborhood Church, including treasurer to the Official Board, president of Women's Ministries, Sunday school literature secretary, and nursery superintendent. More recently, Mae also attended First Baptist Church. To honor Mae's love of church music, an endowed keyboard scholarship in her name has been established at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. Both in Grand Forks and Stockton, Mae excelled as a secretary and bookkeeper. In Stockton, she worked for the VerNal Canning Company and the dental offices of Dr. Ken Gene Mar and Dr. Arthur Mow. She enjoyed cooking, baking, entertaining, sewing, and traveled to the Scandinavian countries as well as cruises to Alaska and the Caribbean, plus numerous visits to the Hawaiian Islands.

Mae is survived by her sons, Mark, of Pasadena, California, and Wayne, of Manteca, California; two sisters, Evelyn Sommer of Vacaville, California, and Delores Smith of Stockton, California, and a brother, Glen Branvold, of Nelson, California. She is preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, "Willie", a sister Gladys Fish, and two brothers Elmer Branvold and Lloyd Branvold.

Services will be held on Monday, July 31, 2006, 10:00 a.m. Evergreen Chapel, Cherokee Memorial Park, Highway 99 at East Harney Lane, Lodi, California. Visitation at 9:00 a.m. Officiating pastors will be the Rev. Eugene Kraft of Lakeview Assembly of God, Stockton, and the Rev. Doug Butler of First Baptist Church, Stockton. Music ministry will include soloist Joyce Kraft and organists Inez Pope and Mark Thallander.

Memorial contributions to special funds at Mae's two churches: Lakeview Assembly Women's Ministries and First Baptist Church Sanctuary Choir CD Fund are preferred.