Violet T. Sunsten

Funeral services for Violet Sunsten of Roseau, MN will be held on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 2 PM at First United Lutheran Church in Roseau.  Visitation will be on Friday evening from 5-7 with a 7:00 PM prayer service at Helgeson Funeral Home in Roseau.  Interment will be at Spruce Cemetery.

Violet Theresa Sunsten of Roseau, MN passed away peacefully on April 24, 2017 at the LifeCare Roseau Manor at the age of 99.

Violet was born on September 18, 1917 in Strathcona, MN to Ella (Mellum) and Carl Henning Backlund.  She attended a country school in Strathcona, and later graduated from Roseau High School in 1935, while she worked as a waitress at the Eatmor Café to earn extra money.  She and Hjalmer Sunsten were married on July 12, 1937 at the church parsonage.  They built a house on North Main Ave in Roseau, where they raised three children. 

Violet was an expert at doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles. She would stand at her kitchen table for hours doing them. She always had a table full of violet flowers by a window. She also liked to work in the garden and do many outdoor activities.  She loved to fish and hunt, and accompanied family and friends fishing in Canada, Lake of the Woods, and hunting deer and snowmobiling at camp near Mud Creek.  She was an avid bowler, bowling in a woman's league and traveled to 15 national tournaments all across the country. She also liked to camp, and when Hjalmer retired, they bought a pickup camper and traveled from coast to coast. They traveled to Alaska with their son and his family in their pickup camper and tent trailer, and later purchased a motorhome with them and traveled to most of the national parks all across the US.

She was active in choir, teaching Sunday school, the Ladies Aide and quilting at the First Lutheran Church.  She also volunteered at the Four Seasons Senior Center.

She is survived by her children, Shirley (Alvin “Buddy”) Fugleberg of Roseau, Leland (Shirley) Sunsten of Forest Lake, MN and Gary (Marilyn) Sunsten of Frisco, TX; 8 grandchildren, Gail Svor, Larry Fugleberg, Karin Roseen, Kaydell Sunsten, Suzanne Sunsten, Jolene Sunsten, Craig Sunsten and Jason Sunsten; 9 great-grandchildren, Andrea, Mitchell, Brett, Marisa, Aaron, Taylor, Luke, Brody and Claire; 5 great-great-grandchildren, Blayke, Callie, Chase, Brooks, and Finn; and many nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Hjalmer Sunsten in 1998; twin brother, Vernon (Lillian); brother, Marvin (Lorraine); and sister, Elna (Ernest) Adams.

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