Thelma "Tula" Henrikson

Thelma (Tula) Henrikson, Fargo, ND passed away on Thursday September 18, 2014 at the age of…well let’s just say she was “in her nineties.” She died with her family, friends, and Hospice lovingly tending to her at Bethany Homes. With the help of some really wonderful nurses she spent the last six weeks of her life resting comfortably after a fall at her home left her with a broken hip that she was unable to recover from.

Tula was born in Astoria, ND to Gina and Edward Nelson where she lived until she married her first husband, Mel Johnson in Sioux Falls, SD. From an early age, she displayed great talents in both art and writing. Throughout her life she kept up these talents and also passed them on to her daughters; Lin, the reporter, and Rhonda, the artist.

She was fortunate enough to have not one but two incredible husbands, both of whom passed away before her. She wasn’t the only lucky one though; she was a loving and devoted wife who doted upon her husbands and treated them both like gold.

From a young age, it was apparent that Tula was born to sell. It was well known that she could sell anything to anyone and was one of the first, if not the first female realtors in Fargo. She worked in the real estate division of Meineke Johnson where she became a very successful and award winning realtor. She loved fundraising and was really good at it. If she came around asking you to donate money for something, you might as well save yourself the trouble and just say “yes.” Among other things, she was instrumental in raising funds for the Hjemkomst Center.

She was a member of First Lutheran for 60 years and along with her daughter Lin, contributed much of her life to helping her church in various ways. Among other things, she and Lin were instrumental in changing the welcome experience for the new members by making lavish dinners complete with full China service rather than the paper plates and napkins of the past. Together they would work for days to create a welcoming meal for the new parishioners. She also raised substantial amounts of money to send the kids on their mission trips.

A true stubborn Norwegian, her lefsa was a staple of every Thanksgiving and Christmas meal. When she did finally pass the lefsa torch to Rhonda, she still kept a watchful eye over every step of the process. She loved holidays, especially decorating the outside of her house, and still hung all of her own lights, despite the objections of everyone, until just a couple of years ago.
She did have a short stint at Touchmark, but true to form she escaped out the back door one too many times and finally got to move back to her home. This could not have been possible without the assistance of her great friends and the two best neighbors she could ask for, Karen Okerlund and Cheryl Lindely. With their help she was exactly where she wanted to be for the remainder of her life.

Her dying wishes included no mention of her age, or her given name (oops) and no funeral. So, instead there will be a private burial on Tuesday September 23rd with immediate family only. She also insisted on being cremated in order for half of her ashes to be scattered with each of two great loves of her life.

She is preceded in death by her parents, all of her siblings, two wonderful husbands, Mel Johnson (35 years), and Dutch Henrikson (27 years), and her daughter Lin Smithwick. She is survived by her daughter Rhonda (Bernie) Ness, her grandchildren, Nicole (Paul) Berglund, Megan Ness, Danielle (Micah) Arnold, Tom (Traci) Smithwick, and John Smithwick, and several great grandchildren. She is also survived by Dutch’s family, which includes his son Steve (Phyllis) Henrikson, his grandchildren, Randy (Carrie) Henrikson, Kristi (Steve) Wong, and Stephanie (Shawn) Gruenberg along with his many great grandchildren.