Velora (Val) Westerlund

Westerlund, Velora (Val) Age 86. Passed away June 24, 2016, at Edina, Minn. Longtime Bloomington resident. Survived by daughters Monica (Eric) and Genell; siblings Bernice Roepke, Norma (Gordy) Hollen and Wayne Peterson; and many nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by husband Allan; parents Edwin and Bertha Peterson; siblings Orrin, Roy, Ernest, Hazel, Ruth and Helen; and son-in-law John Lemley. Born just days before the stock market crash that started the Great Depression, Val was the eighth of 10 children. She always said that although her large family had little means, they were never lacking for love. The close Norwegian-heritage family resided on the shores of Scandinavian Lake and found joy in simple living: rowing around the lake, having picnics by the river, savoring white bread and butter coated with sugar for a treat, playing cards, enjoying each others’ company, and dancing. Val excelled in class at the local one-room schoolhouse and was proud to claim that she beat some of the boys in footraces during recess. She graduated from Glenwood High School and went on to attend St. Cloud State Teachers College. After college, Val became a third-grade teacher in Brooten, Minn. There she met Allan Westerlund, an industrial arts teacher and coach, whom she married in 1951. Val and Al made many lifelong friends while in Brooten and built their first house together there before moving to Bloomington in 1959. There they raised their two girls, and Val began teaching children with learning disabilities in the Bloomington school district. She loved her family and friends and was “all-in” when it came to going to the lake to fish, swim or just relax. She shared her husband’s love of sports, enjoyed golfing into her 80s and loved to take daily walks. Val was in several card clubs and a book club. She was a voracious reader, favoring mysteries and biographies. She also worked the Star Tribune crossword puzzle every day (always with coffee at her side), often consulting with her sisters by phone. Wanting to keep her mind alert, she would often challenge herself to list the names of all of the states and their capitals from memory, which she could do without hesitation. Val was gracious, selfless, fair and kind and will be missed by all who knew her. Her family thanks the organizations and many people who supported and guided her through her later years: Station 88 at Fairview-Southdale Hospital, whose loving care is unsurpassed; the Beehive Excelsior; Deephaven Woods; Jessica Berglund at Live Your Life Physical Therapy; and Lifesprk. Visitation will be held Thurs., June 30, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 8600 Fremont Ave. So., Bloomington, MN 55420. The memorial service will be at the church at 12 noon. Memorials preferred to Student Success Stipends Program, Education Foundation of Bloomington, Community Education Campus, 2575 West 88th Street, Bloomington, MN 55431. http://efbmn.org/cftstipends. Arrangements Washburn-McReavy, www.washburn-mcreavy.com, 952-975-0400.

Tributes

Velora (Val) Westerlund

June 24, 2016

We are here for you 24x7

Call us and get help now

(612) 377-2203