Mavis Lorene (Nerem) (Pederson) Bygness

Mavis Lorene (Nerem) (Pederson) Bygness of Humboldt, Iowa, formerly of Renwick, died at The Reed House in Denison on Thursday, June 7, 2012.   She was 85 years old.  Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 12, 2012, at Our Saviours Lutheran Church in Humboldt.  Interment will be in Lake Lutheran Cemetery near Renwick.  Visitation is from 5-8 p.m. Monday, June 11, at the Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home in Humboldt.

Mavis was born in Kenyon, Minnesota, on November 12, 1926,  the daughter of Ed T. and Mattie (Revland) Nerem.   She graduated in 1944 from Forest City High School and worked at the Forest City courthouse until she  married Curtiss Pederson in October 1948.  Mavis and Curt moved to a farm in the Hardy area and had four children: Mardell, John (died at birth), Colette, and Suzette.  Curtiss died in April 1963 leaving Mavis to raise three young daughters on her own.  On August 19, 1965, she married Russell Bygness and moved to a farm in the Renwick area where they had three sons: Greg (died at birth), Paul, and Ryan.  Russ preceded her in death on June 15, 1997.

Mavis devoted her life to raising her five children, spending 34 years attending parent-teacher conferences, school plays, concerts, and ball games.  She was a long time member of the Legion Auxiliary, book club, and numerous church circles.  She also enjoyed playing golf as a member of Oak Ridge Golf Club, traveling, volunteering at the food pantry and the hospital, and attending many clubs, including The Red Hat Club and The Women’s Club .  She was an active member of Lake Lutheran Church, rural Goldfield, and Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Humboldt.     She enjoyed vegetable gardening, caring for her flowers, working in the yard, feeding her cats and dog, filling her bird feeders, and mastering the daily crossword puzzle.  Most of all, she enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

She was a kind, generous and loving mother, grandmother and friend who enjoyed living a simple life.  Christmas was a special time for our large family. We knew there would always be lefse, codfish, potato cakes, krumkake, spritz, and kringla.  She passed her love of Norwegian traditions down to all of us.

Mavis leaves behind three daughters from her marriage to Curtiss Pederson: Mardell (Ron) Thorn, Houston, Texas;  Colette (Clay) Hansen, Thor, Iowa; and Suzette Burk, Houston, Texas.  She also leaves behind two sons from her marriage to Russell Bygness, Paul (Jennifer) Bygness, Houston, Texas, and Dr. Ryan (Erika) Bygness, Denison, Iowa.  She also leaves behind 10 grandchildren: Brent Thorn, Chris Thorn, Kirstin (Thorn) Richards, Luke Hansen, Holly (Hansen) Nielsen, Melanie (Burk) Montalbano, Stephanie (Burk) Stark, Quinlan, Roman and Monroe Bygness and 10 great-grandchildren: Peyton and Olivia Thorn, Taylor and Hayden Richards, Alexis and Chase Hansen, Kayli and Kennedy Nielsen, Aston Montalbano, and Keagan Stark.  She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Marvin and Duane Nerem, and a sister, Berdella Sheller.

Our family would like to acknowledge the staff of The Reed House for their loving dedication and quality of care Mavis received over the past three years.  We would also like to thank the hospice staff for their patience, kindness,  compassion, and expertise.  Mange tak.