Frances Delores Axness

Frances Axness, 85, died on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at Lake Region Hospital in Fergus Falls, MN. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at North Immanuel Church in rural Pelican Rapids, MN with Pastor Curt Tilleraas officiating. Burial will be at West North Immanuel Cemetery. Visitation will be held 5-8 PM, Monday, January 20, 2014 at Dobmeier Funeral Home in Barnesville, MN with Prayer Service at 7:00 PM. Visitation will also be held for one hour prior to the funeral service on Tuesday. Frances Delores Holt was born on January 4, 1929 daughter of Eddie and Thea (Strandlien) Holt on the family farm in Norwegian Grove Township, Otter Tail County, MN where she attended country school and grew to womanhood. She graduated from Barnesville High School in 1947. As a young woman, she worked at the Barnesville Bus Depot, the Old Eagle Cafe, and for 3 years at the Barnesville Telephone Office as a switchboard operator. She married Harvey A. Axness on May 2, 1955. They made their home and farmed in Norwegian Grove Township of Otter Tail County, near Pelican Rapids. She worked alongside of her husband and boys in the fields and with the chores of their family farm. Throughout her lifetime Frances was a caregiver for many in her family, and she also worked at the Pelican Valley Nursing Home for over 25 years. In 1991, Frances and Harvey moved from the farm to Pelican Rapids, and this past June she moved to the River Front On Main Assisted Living. Frances has been a lifetime member of North Immanuel Church. She was a Sunday School Teacher, WELCA and Circle Member. She was a member of the VFW Auxiliary in Barnesville. She was an avid flower gardener and was always trying to make her yard look good. In her later years, she spent hours embroidering countless dish towels. She loved and felt blessed by her family and expressed it. Frances always had time for her grandchildren, including sledding in the winter, playing card games with them every chance she got, and caring for them. Frances is survived by two sons, Mike Axness, Pelican Rapids, MN, Tom (Conni) Axness, Pelican Rapids, MN, four grandsons: Justin (Rachael) Axness, Rollag, MN, Joseph (Teri) Axness, Rothsay, MN, Jay Axness, Houston, TX, Jesse Axness, Fargo, ND, 6 great grandchildren: Jack, Allison, Samuel, Laura, Odin, and Thea Axness, one brother Wallace (Marlys) Holt of Barnesville, MN, one sister: Geneva Adams, St. Paul, MN, brother in law Luvern (Dalyce) Axness, Pelican Rapids, 3 sisters in law: Janet Holt, Barnesville, Mavis Holt, Pelican Rapids, Eleanor Holt, Fergus Falls, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by an infant daughter Susan in 1957, her husband Harvey in 2003, her parents, five brothers: Eugene, Lawrence, Wayne, Virgil, and Curtis, three sisters: Hazel Borg, Marion Pederson, and Irene Johnson.