Frances Louise Folstad

Memorial Service: https://vimeo.com/995132553

Tribute Video: https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/574LSSBND4T5CXZ5

Frances Louise Olson was born on May 24, 1946, in Jamestown, ND, to Russel and Florence (Hansen) Olson. She was baptized on July 14, 1946 and was received into communion and confirmed on June 15, 1958 at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tappen, ND. She was raised on the farm south of Tappen and attended a one-room school two miles from home. She would ride her horse to school as the school had a stable; she spent her summers putting up hay. She went to high school at Bismarck High School and graduated in 1963. She then attended Bismarck Junior College for one year before going to NDSU for two years. In 1967, she went to work for the Veterans Administration in medical records, first in Denver and then in Fargo. She left the VA in 1976 and became a stay-at-home mom.

On April 17, 1971 she was united in marriage to Woody Folstad at Olivet Lutheran Church in Fargo. They resided in South Fargo until the fall of 1979, when they built a new home and moved to rural Harwood. In 2023, they moved back to Fargo.

While living in Harwood, Frances volunteered to help slow learners at Harwood Elementary, was Parish Secretary at Zion Lutheran Church for 20-plus years, and played volleyball and golf with her friends. She was an excellent seamstress, making some of her own clothes and also for the boys. She was a member of the American Legion Post #297 Auxiliary in Harwood and VFW Post #762 Auxiliary in Fargo. Frances was very involved with an investment club for a number of years. Her flowers and garden got a lot of attention during the summer, and during the holiday season, she brought out the rolling pin. It was time for Lefse and flatbread made in great quantities and given away.

A help-wanted advertisement at the Harwood State Bank got her attention one day. She came home and said she was going to apply. She did get the job and seven years later gave it up when Parkinson's started to slow her down. Travel was a big part of her life and she and Woody visited around ninety countries and all of the continents.

Frances is survived by her husband, Woody; sons, Matt (Lisa) of West Fargo and Grant (Meghan) of Bothell, Washington; grandchildren, Colton and Kassidy Folstad of West Fargo; sister, Beryl Younkin of Cleveland, Ohio. She was preceded in death by her parents, Russel and Florence Olson; and her brother, Larry Olson, all of Tappen.

Memorials may be sent to Messiah Lutheran Church in Fargo and Zion Lutheran Church in Harwood, ND.

Her final resting place is rural Tappen, ND.