Cordelia Agrimson loved reminiscing about her youth.
"Even with her memory loss the last couple of years," said son-in-law Mark Hanson of Minneapolis, "Cordelia still loved to talk about the days when her family moved around and about the education she got in Canadian schools. She said it was second to none."
The daughter of a Lutheran pastor, Agrimson, of Minneapolis, died on May 9 due to complications of COVID-19. She was 100.
"She had survived heart bypass and cancer," Hanson said. "She lived at Walker Place Apartments and when the flu bug would come, she wouldn't get it. On May 4, she was running a slight fever and she was tested. It came back positive the next day. She went quickly. She died four days later. We were able to FaceTime with her the day before she died."
Agrimson was born to the Rev. Reinert Huglen and Inga Huglen on June 6, 1919 in Badger, Minn.
The family moved around as the Rev. Huglen, who emigrated from Norway in 1904, served parishes in Saskatchewan and the United States.
After high school, Cordelia moved to Minneapolis to attend Deaconess School of Nursing. In 1940, while she was a student, her father died,
"She struggled with should she go home to help her mother raise her [four younger] siblings," Hanson said. "But her mother told her, 'You need an education,' and she stayed in school."
Cordelia met a Luther Seminary student named Elmo Agrimson. They were married in 1945. They moved to western North Dakota where the Rev. Agrimson served parishes in Reeder and Tioga. In 1960, they moved to Bismarck, N.D., when her husband was named Bishop of the American Lutheran Church's Western North Dakota district.
In the summer of 1971, he was named Bishop of the Southeast Minnesota District. The Rev. Agrimson died in 1988 at age 71.
"She would always ask, 'Why am I living so long?' " Hanson said, "and I'd say, 'because you didn't drink, you didn't smoke, didn't have sugar, didn't have any fun.' And she'd laugh. She was an amazingly loving lady. She was the epitome of graciousness and gratitude. She always thanked you for visiting."
Cordelia is survived by her daughters Ione Hanson of Minneapolis and Renae Halverson of Zimmerman, nine grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and sister Valborg Huglen and brother the Rev. Raynard Huglen, both of Newfolden. Raynard Huglen is still preaching at age 92.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
