Rebecca Elisabeth Hranj

Rebecca Elisabeth Hranj, aged 43, of Blaine, MN, died April 15, 2026, after a 2 year long battle with complications from beating pancreatic cancer. Born on April 23, 1983 to Albert Raymond Hranj and Ingeborg "Inge" Elisabeth (Ueckert) VanReenen at Carl Schurts-Kaserne Base in Bremerhaven, Germany. A child of an immigrant, her German heritage wound its quiet way through the rest of her life and she maintained connection with her family that still remain there. Rebecca attained a Bachelor of Arts in English from Towson University and a Masters of Library Science with an emphasis in Rare Collections Archiving from the University of Maryland. She taught high school throughout her 20s and was so beloved by her students that she maintained contact with them and supported their dreams the rest of her life. Later, she worked at The Folger Shakespeare Library with the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare and a rare collection repository. Ever the book lover, she worked at several different libraries after moving to Minnesota. In the last 5 years, she was able to fulfill her dream of combining her loves of teaching and archiving on staff with St. Olaf College. She married Josh Udvig on November 22nd, 2023. Long before that, she took on his children as her "bonus" kids(her words), always feeling blessed to be in their lives. Her family was one of her fiercest loves. She graciously extended that love to her in-law Udvig and Vinson families. She was an avid reader, theater enthusiast, gardener, and artist. After attaining her Advanced Certificate in Book Arts from Minnesota Center for Book Arts, she could be seen marbling paper, creating books, or making boxes in her spare time. She was working on creating a class to teach at MCBA on the history of the book. Her passion for sharing her knowledge carried through all parts of her life. Rebecca is survived by her husband Josh Udvig, three children Gavin, Gweneth "Gael", and Maegan "Maggie", and four siblings Bo Hranj, DJ VanReenen, Christine VanReenen, and Tina Sinyard. She was preceded in death by her parents, Albert Raymond Hranj, Ingeborg "Inge" Elisabeth (Ueckert) VanReenen, and her step-father, Daniel "Van" Ray VanReenen though she never would have called him "step," just her Dad. That may be the most defining feature of a life cut too short. From her students, to her theater friends, co-workers, besties, spouse, and children, all were welcomed as family. Her Celebration of Life will be held Monday, April 27th at 11:00 am with visitation 1 hour before at Washburn - McReavy Funeral Chapel, 1827 Coon Rapids Blvd. NW, Coon Rapids. In lieu of flowers we would like you to honor Rebecca with donations to Minnesota Center of Book Arts at www.mnbookarts.org/support

Rebecca Elisabeth Hranj

April 23, 1982 - April 15, 2026

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