Donna Strand

Donna Marie Strand, of Fargo, ND, died Tuesday, May 8, 2007, in MeritCare Hospital, Fargo. Donna was born September 16, 1943, in Perham, MN, daughter of Arthur and Lena (Tessman) Wothe. Donna grew up on a family farm in Height of Land, MN, and graduated from Frazee, Minnesota High School in 1961. On July 21, 1963, she married her high school sweetheart, James A. Strand. Donna and her family moved to Moorhead in the mid-1970's, where Donna operated a home childcare and was active in home childcare and child advocacy serving as the first President of the Clay County Daycare Association. In 1990, Donna moved to Fargo and began working for the Fargo-Moorhead YMCA in Childcare Services. During her tenure at the YMCA, Donna was first a teacher and later director of several YMCA childcare centers, some of which she helped establish from the “ground up.” Donna most recently served as the director of the YMCA Lodoen Childcare Center in West Fargo. In her years of working at the YMCA, Donna touched countless lives and cared deeply about the children, families and people she worked with. Donna was active in several professional organizations and served this past year as Secretary of the Area Preschool Advocates. She was a member of the North Dakota and Red River Associations for the Education of Young Children and the West Central Director’s Association. On this Mother’s Day weekend, we remember Donna as someone who personified the idea of a Mother. Donna was a loving, kind, humanist who not only was a great mother to her immediate family but to the extended family of the YMCA. Her impact was profound and serves as an example of what quiet leadership can do to impact a community. She is survived by her husband, James of Fargo; brother, William (Yvonne) Wothe of TN; her daughter,,Shelly (Cory) Lell, Eden Pairie, MN; her son, Michael (Shelly) Strand, Lincoln, NE; and her daughter, Shauna (Robert) Sowga, Columbus, OH; as well as her five grandchildren, Tyler, Brady, Shay, Malcolm, and Ian. She was preceded in death by her father, Arthur Wothe, and her mother, Lena (Tessman) Wothe. In lieu of flowers or other remembrances, the family asks that memorials be sent to the YMCA-Donna Strand Natural Playground Memorial Fund which will be used to build an innovative play park at the Y-West Facility. Donations should be directed to the YMCA of Fargo-Moorhead. Visitation: Friday, May 11, 2007, from 5-7 PM in Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, Fargo and also Saturday from 1-2 PM at Grace Lutheran Church, Fargo. Funeral: Saturday, May 12, 2007, at 2 PM at Grace Lutheran Church, Fargo. Interment: Saturday, 6 PM at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Height of Land, MN.