LaDonna Levik

LADONNA LEVIK A celebration of life and funeral service for LaDonna Levik, 94, of Fairmont will be held at Waverly Lutheran Church near Trimont beginning with lunch and fellowship at 12 p.m. followed by the funeral service at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22, 2023. Burial will follow the service in Waverly Lutheran Church Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 21, 2023, at Lakeview Funeral Home in Fairmont. LaDonna passed away on Friday morning, April 14, 2023, at Deerfield Gables in New Richmond, Wis. Lakeview Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Fairmont is assisting the family with arrangements. LaDonna Iola (Eckstrom) Levik was born February 4, 1929, to Hjalmar and Lilly (Johnson) Eckstrom in rural Butterfield. She was baptized at Kansas Lake Church, rural Butterfield, and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church in Odin. She attended elementary school in Odin and graduated from St. James High School in 1947. In her youth, she was an active member of Luther League and the Handy Helpers 4-H Club. She also enjoyed ice skating and playing kittenball with all the Odin children. She attended St. Olaf College graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Home Economics in 1951. She taught home economics for two years in Trimont. The following summer she studied at the University of Oslo, Norway. Returning to Minnesota, she continued teaching two more years in Tracy. After a dietetic internship at the University of Minnesota in 1956, she practiced dietetics at Slayton and Pipestone hospitals. On July 26, 1958, she was united in marriage to Roy Iver Levik at First Lutheran Church in St. James. Following a one month honeymoon to the east coast and Canada, they made their home on a farm southwest of Truman. She worked as a consulting dietitian at nursing homes, clinics, and hospitals in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. LaDonna was an active volunteer at Waverly Lutheran and Grace Lutheran churches, the Fairmont Hospital Auxiliary, Sons of Norway, Martin County 4-H, county fair judging, Compassionate Friends, and AARP Tax-Aide. Renowned for setting a beautiful table and making delicious food, she and Roy loved entertaining family and friends. She patiently taught her children and grandchildren to cook and bake, and she generously shared baked goods when visiting friends and relatives. In 2001 she spearheaded the creation of the Johnson Family Cookbook which became a favorite cookbook in her extended family. She and Roy enjoyed traveling and cheering on their children and grandchildren in their activities. She had the unique ability to link people and places to find connections among one another. Following Roy's death, LaDonna moved from the shores of Perch Lake to a condo overlooking Budd Lake in Fairmont. She remained active with church activities, volunteer work, and her network of cousins and friends. Survivors include her daughter, Ingrid Gangestad and her husband Nick of Orlando, Fla.; son-in-law, Wayne Jurgens and his wife Bernie of St. James; grandchildren, Nathan (Morgan) Jurgens and their children Kale, Keagan, and Ripley of Johnson Creek, Wis.; Matthew (Abby Frederickson) Jurgens of Phoenix, Ariz.; Greta (Adam Herzog) Gangestad of Roseville; Jack Gangestad of Minneapolis; brother Dale (Marlene) Eckstrom of St. James; four nephews and three nieces and their families. LaDonna was preceded in death by her husband Roy; daughter, Kris Ann Jurgens; and parents Hjalmar and Lilly Eckstrom; brothers-in-law Earl Berg, Richard Bock, and Roy Paulson; sisters-in-law Alma Bock, Esther Paulson, and Norma Levik. Memorials are preferred to the Martin County Area Foundation or the Minnesota 4-H State Fair Building Improvement Project Fund.