JO ANN OLINE EDWARDS
I was born on August 6, 1937. My mother was Elfina Ingeborg Birkeland Njos, and my dad was Erwin Llewellen Njos. The name Njos plagued me all of my schooling days as no one could figure out how to say it.
I attended school in Dupree, South Dakota, and was always active in whatever musical activities were available or were created by me and my friends. My cousin, Betty Birkeland, and two of my friends, Carol Hegre and Alma Larson, formed a quartet that performed at many local functions in Dupree and the surrounding area. We won a talent contest sponsored by a radio station in Rapid City but didn’t make it beyond the final cut. The grand prize was a trip to Europe.
My mother was always insistent that I have musical opportunities. I began piano lessons in the first grade with Mrs. Nelson. She moved away at the end of that year and Mother coaxed Mrs. Ethel Parrott, a member of the Church, to take me as a student. I carried two dozen eggs each week as payment for my lessons.
In the fifth grade, I began playing for church services. We hired a new minister whose wife was an excellent pianist., and she accepted me as a student. The music for the church services took a definite turn for the better under her tutelage. I later studied organ with Dr. Fred Binckes in Billings and played in various churches for several years.
I attended Yankton College for one year and majored in music.
In 1956, I married Jim Edwards. We had three children, Kevin James, Deni Lynn, and Lisa DeAnn. All of them have grown up to be active community members, excellent parents and children to make their parents proud. They have their own families, Kristin, Taylor, Carter, Thomas, and Austin. Kevin married Linda Zoeteman, Deni married Jeff Mensing, and Lisa married Kevin Bowen. All of the in-laws were good to me.
Jim and I traveled quite a bit, and I was always grateful for seeing a lot of the world during the marriage. In 1979, Jim and I were divorced.
I finished my degree in music and decided it wasn’t very marketable so obtained an accounting degree from Eastern Montana College.
In 1985, I moved to Anchorage, Alaska. What a great experience! Anchorage is a dancing town, and I often went dancing Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon. The Alaskan scenery was magnificent. I saw much of the state. In Anchorage, I became a Lutheran! Of course, I sang in the choir and did some substituting as an organist. I was employed by Carr-Gottstein, Alaska’s largest private employer.
Grandchildren began to accumulate down in the Lower 48, so I moved to Minneapolis which was equidistant from all of the children and the home of my sister, Linda Zacher. She and my brother-in-law, Jim, and my two nieces, Jamie and Peggy, were very good to me. I became the Controller for Fine Associates for seven years. I was still a Lutheran and joined the Saturday Mens’ Bible Study group – the best Bible Study group I ever attended and a cherished memory. I studied piano with LaVerne Smith for a short time and performed in her yearly recital.
In 2005, I moved to State College, Pennsylvania, and joined the UCC church. I miss the liturgy, but am more in tune with the UCC political outlook than with the Lutherans.
I began working for a small manufacturing entity which is part of a global company, Thermo Fisher Scientific. The branch ships products all over the world, so it was common for me to correspond (by email) with customers from India, China, Korea, and many other countries.
In addition to music, I loved to sew, cook, bake, and read. My Birkeland grandmother and aunts gave me the touch for baking, and my various kinds of bread were well appreciated. Lisa asked me once why I didn’t bake all of our bread, and I replied, “because we would all be square”!
Well, this is the end of the saga. Many details have been omitted. My children and friends know a lot of them. I’ve had an interesting life and have wonderful children and grandchildren. What more can one ask!!!
There will be a family memorial service in Mesa, Arizona later this winter. Condolences may be left for the family at www.mariposagardens.com. If you wish to do something in memory of JoAnn please make donations to the United Church of Christ, P.O. Box 7, Dupree, SD 57623
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