- Date Of Birth: November 19, 1927
- Date Of Death: March 22, 2017
- State: Minnesota
Fern Adelle (Stahlberg) Svoboda, age 89, passed away on March 22nd. She was born at Strathcona, Minnesota on November 19, 1927. She was the second of nine children born to Harold and Olga Stahlberg. She passed away in her home from lung cancer lovingly cared for by her family.
She attended grade school in Strathcona and graduated from Greenbush High School at the age of 15. After high school she continued her education in the nursing program at Grand Forks, North Dakota. Fern married James Svoboda on August 5, 1944 and they made their home on the original Svoboda homestead in Barnett Township where they raised seven children.
Fern worked as a nurse at the Greenbush Hospital for 22 years, then continued working as a nurse at the Greenbush Clinic until she retired in March, 1993.
After the death of her husband James, Fern continued to manage the workings of her farm complete with livestock and a huge garden. She remained strong and active until this past year when she broke her hip and began to have problems with failing health.
Fern was very proud of her “century farm” which has always been owned by a member of the Svoboda family since it was homesteaded in 1908.
She raised horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese and even peacocks for a number of years. She once described her farm as an “Old McDonald” farm. She loved the farm. She loved the animals. No animal would die on her watch if she could help it, even if it meant bringing the animal into the house and putting it in the bathtub. She passed on the love of animals to her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.
Her granddaughter Shauna said this about her, “ I’m very lucky to have grown up so close to my grandparents. My grandma taught me so much, like loving animals (especially the babies!
Her granddaughter Jessica said this, “Thinking of Grandma, or as my children call her ‘Great Grandma on the Farm’. To truly appreciate this woman, you’d have to have known her whole life story, and sat with her at the kitchen table a while. What a strong and amazing person she was. What an amazing legacy she’s left in the children she has raised. What memories I have from the summers I spent on the farm.”
Her granddaughter Monique said this, “Grandma has always been one of the most important people to me. She is incredibly strong yet so kind.
Life was not always easy. Times were sometimes tough. Fern was always the rudder that “kept the ship afloat”. She was an example of courage and strength. As her granddaughter, Kristine, said, “I pulled strength from Grandma during difficult times in my life. I would think of Grandma and I would just keep putting one foot in front of the other until times got better. ”
Fern was hard working, kind, gentle, loving, fiercely independent, generous. She was always thinking of others.
Fern is survived by six children: Gail (Roxane) Svoboda of Prior Lake, MN; James (Suanne) Svoboda of Fresno, CA; Brach (Janice) Svoboda of Badger, MN; Junieve Lundgren of Badger, MN; Marchelle (Kenneth) Kesler of Bend, OR; Dawn (Ronald) Benkler of St. Francis, MN; her daughter-in-law Carol Halvorson; siblings Wayne Stahlberg, Clark (Rose) Stahlberg, Bryan (Joan) Stahlberg, Gene (Lila) Stahlberg, Gordon (Marie) Stahlberg; her many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren; and many other relatives.
Fern is preceded in death by her husband, James; her son Jeffrey Sheldon Svoboda; her grandchildren Todd Ryan Svoboda, Jeremy Gene Lundgren, great-grandson Cody Anthony Thompson; great-granddaughter Ciara “Kiki” Flynn; her son-in-law Eugene Lundgren; her parents Harold and Olga (Sands) Stahlberg; and her siblings Yvonne Belston, Muriel Edwards, and Harold Stahlberg.
