Doris A. Vatnsdal

A Funeral Service for Doris A. Vatnsdal of Roseau, MN will be held on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 1:00 PM at Moe Lutheran Church in Roseau, MN. Visitation will be held on Friday, January 18, 2019 from 5-7PM at Helgeson Funeral Home in Roseau, MN with a prayer service at 7PM. Visitation will also be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be held at Moe-Rose Cemetery in Roseau, MN.

Doris passed away on Saturday, January 12, 2019 at the age of 85.

Doris Adline (Sjaaheim) Vatnsdal was born January 18, 1933, to Theodore and Cecelia (Herling) Sjaaheim, in Falun Township in rural Roseau, MN.  She grew up on her parents’ farm in the Roseau area, attended school in Roseau, graduating in 1951.  Doris married James “Jim” Vatnsdal on October 20, 1951.  They had six children, all sons, Larry, Rickie, Lorris, Sheldon, Lonnie, Lyndell.

Doris was baptized at age 11 at Karlstad Baptist Church, and attended Sunday School and church at First Baptist Church in Roseau.  She was confirmed at Duxby Lutheran Church in 1953.  Doris and Jim lived in the Duxby area northwest of Roseau for their first years of marriage and then bought a farm north of Greenbush.  In 1969, Doris started working for Martin Johnson as a jig setter for her husband Jim, and later learned to weld, making parts for Polaris.  Shortly after, they sold the farm and moved to their home 1 mile south of Roseau.  Jim and Doris ran the concession stand at the Roseau Memorial Arena from 1970 to 1981, where Doris became the queen of barbecue-making.  In 1976 Doris became bookkeeper at Jackson Ford, later Messelt Ford, until her retirement in 1995.  In 2005, Doris was widowed and greatly missed the love of her life.  She moved into an apartment in Roseau, until she moved to Oak Crest Senior Housing in 2018.        

Doris was an active member of Moe Lutheran Church.  She enjoyed family, camping, fishing, playing cards, visiting with friends and relatives, and watching her Minnesota Twins.  She was well known for her lefse baking, and her family will tell you she made the greatest lefse in town, and her mashed potatoes and gravy were the best!  She especially enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Her favorite slogan was “There is something good about everything” – a slogan she truly lived by – she always saw the good!

Doris is survived by sons Larry (Linda), Lorris (Louise), Sheldon (Deanne), Lonnie (Kim) of Roseau; son Lyndell of Moorhead, MN; daughter-in-law Roxane (Rick) Myhra of Moorhead, MN; 13 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; brothers Kenneth (Carol) Sjaaheim and Kim (Jeanette) Sjaaheim; sisters Darlene Lisell and Leona (Vernon) Reichelt; brother-in-law Ray (Ardy) Vatnsdal; sisters-in-law Joy (Joe) Gust, Eldri Vatnsdal, Launa Vatnsdal, Jean Vatnsdal; and many nieces and nephews. 

Doris is preceded in death by her husband James; son Rickie; grandson Jeremy Vatnsdal; her parents; brothers-in-law Odin Lisell, Dennis Vatnsdal, Gerald Vatnsdal, and Doyle Vatnsdal.

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