Nora M. Parrill

Nora Parrill of Roseau, Minnesota, loving wife and mother of three, passed away on Dec. 3, 2022 in Grand Forks, North Dakota at the age of 67 after a short but fierce battle with cancer. Her funeral will be held on Friday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. at the Roseau Evangelical Covenant Church in Roseau, Minnesota. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be at the Rendahl Cemetery in Dunseith, North Dakota. 

Nora was born July 16, 1955 in Rolla, North Dakota to parents Norman and Ena. She was the second oldest child in a family that included three brothers and one sister. At the age of 6, Nora and her family moved to Seattle, Washington. When sharing stories of her childhood, Nora would talk about her mother teaching her how to cook and do crafts, a passion that lasted her whole life. Nora was raised to believe in hardwork, setting goals, overcoming obstacles and never giving up. She would often speak about how she was raised with a strong sense of family, something she passed down to her children. 

She graduated from Franklin High School in 1973. From there, Nora set out on her own at the age of 20 to attend a one-year program at Covenant Bible College in Prince Albert, Saskechewan in 1975. After completing the program, Nora moved back to North Dakota, settling in Dunseith, near her aunts, uncles, and cousins.  

In March 1978 she met Clark Parrill in Dunseith. The two were married on Aug. 16, 1980 and gave birth to the first of their three children in May 1981. In Clark, Nora found her life partner, a strong teammate, and her best friend. Clark’s career change from a Science Teacher in Newburg, ND to a U.S Customs Agent moved the family to U.S/Canadian border crossings in Portal, ND (Summer 1983),  International Peace Garden, ND (Summers 1984-1989), Baudette, MN (1990 to 1996), and Roseau, MN (1997 to 2006).  Nora shepherded the family through each move and provided stability at home, as many promotions required Clark to attend out-of-state training for several weeks.  She also supplemented the family income with a variety of roles including jobs in food service, grocery retail, crafting retail, and hospital laundry. Nora and Clark remained married until his death in October 2006. Roseau was home for the remainder of her life.

Nora drew happiness from her faith, family, friends, and community. She held the importance of Christian faith in her everyday life and sought to reflect God in her actions. As an active member of the Covenant Church’s mission board, she was known for her generous spirit and was an active member of multiple ministry committees and groups. Over the years, she initiated and participated in many quilting circles and crafting groups in the community, welcoming crafters and non-crafters alike. Nora was especially known for making handmade quilts. She worked with local agencies to provide quilts to newborn infants in need, wounded and homeless veterans, and local women shelters.  She also created many quilts for family and friends and to babies born into the Roseau Covenant Church family.  Nora also loved to spend time with her family and loved to read, especially historical fiction novels. 

Nora is survived by her three children Joshua (Emily) of Grand Forks, ND; Jude of New Hope, MN; and Eva of San Diego, CA; her beloved grandchildren Elsa and Cora of Grand Forks; her mother Ena; brothers Leo and Jay and sister Mavis, all from Seattle.  She is also survived by sister-in-law LeaRae (Terry) Espe, brother-in-law Joel Parrill, nephews Brady Espe, Marty Espe, Jason Birkland, Cory Birkland, Eric Birkland, and Kyle Quande, and niece Marion Quande.

Nora is preceded in death by her husband Clark, her father Norman, her brother Keith, and Clark’s parents, Mildred and Dean.

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