Henry Halvorson was born March 18, 1917, to Harold and Bertina Halvorson in a tar paper shack five miles southeast of Alamo, ND. He attended school in Big Stone Township until the 6th grade. Henry was baptized and confirmed in the Free Lutheran Church in Alamo, North Dakota.

At the age of two, Henry and his brother, Clifford both contracted polio. He was sent to the Shriners hospital in St. Louis, Missouri at the age of seven where he couldn’t speak English when he was admitted and couldn’t speak Norwegian when he was discharged.

When Henry was ten years old, he decided to take after the older kids that were trapping skunks. He found a trap and set it. After school he had a skunk in it, but didn’t have anything to kill it with so he used a stick. His dad took it to Wildrose and Henry received $2.50. With his profits he ordered a pair of overalls, a shirt and a pair of shoes.

At the age of 18 he worked for farmers. He then went to Wichita, Kansas and worked as ‘Rosie the Riveter’ in a defense plant building B29 bombers. He worked there four years and after the war he began farming and ranching.

At the age of 30, Henry married Lucy Olson in 1951. Together they had one son, Merle. They had a good life. They traveled on the Senior Citizen tours to the east and southeast coasts, as well as the west and to Alaska and Norway. Henry retired from farming in the mid 1980’s. Both Lucy and Henry entered Bethel in 2007. He lost his bride in the summer of 2011.

He served on numerous boards.

Henry loved his toys, which started out with model tractors that he had owned and went on to horse drawn equipment. Of all the equipment and vehicles Henry has ever owned, his motorized chair is the one he appreciated the most.

He is survived by his son, Merle (special friend, Jennifer) of Alamo; brother, Edwin and his wife Helen of Spokane, WA; he is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

Henry was preceded in death by the love of his life, his wife Lucy; his parents, Harold and Bertina Halvorson; sisters, Dagny (Willie) Weston, Helena (Raymond) Ring, Ruth (Dale) Kroshus, Harriet Halvorson and; brothers, Clifford (Ruth), Lenard (Rose) and Trigve (Ann) Halvorson.

Memorial Contribution