Obituary of Virginia Anderson

In putting the pieces together of Virginia's story, there's a verse recorded in all four of the Gospels which clearly summarizes her life serving her Lord, family and multitudes of others: "She did what she could." (and far more than what most of us would have ever thought could be done!) In the early 1900s, southern Saskatchewan became the new home of many Swedish immigrants. Anton and Emma Sjodin were among the pioneers in the Kipling area, which was no Garden of Eden. The Sjodins dug in to the arduous task of pioneering and establishing a homestead, eeking out a living on a barren and foreboding piece of real estate. Besides working the ground to plant crops, they also planted seeds of faith in a big God which continue to produce eternal fruit. As if life wasn't difficult enough, Anton and Emma buried their first daughter, Estelle, in her infancy. Two years later, in 1919, God blessed them with the birth of Virginia Martha, then Stanley in 1921 and Glenn in 1930. When Virginia was 12 yrs. of age her father died from blood poisoning, leaving young mother Emma to raise her, Stanley, 11, and Glenn only 7 weeks old. Virginia (also known as Virgie or Virg) and Stan picked up more of "the reins" to help keep the small farm on its feet. Virg is known to have become quite the horse team driver. "She did what she could." The Sjodins didn't just work the dry Saskatchewan land. Because they had made God's work on earth an important part of their lives, they gave back to Him a piece of their land on which to build the Highland Baptist Church and faithfully lived out what they believed. Virginia learned early in life the joy of showing hospitality to all who came near her door. As a young girl, Virginia attended the local one-room school until 8th grade and then stayed home to help with the work on their small family farm. Life became even more challenging during the Depression years. Not everything would grow on their property, but raspberries certainly did and throughout the rest of Virginia's life, we knew better than to have raspberries on the menu! Through the lives and ministry of various people in the Highland area, God had been faithfully planting the seed of His Word in Virginia's heart and as a young teenager, she put her trust in Jesus Christ as her Savior. Her desire to know and love the Lord Jesus and be in His Word became a common theme throughout the rest of her life. For several winters in the late 1930s, she attended Alberta Baptist Bible Academy (ABBA) in Wetaskiwin, AB, 700 miles northwest of Kipling. During the summer months, she was back at home helping on the farm and other families in the area. "She did what she could." During the winter of 1937, she met a young man, Lorne Anderson, who attended a 6-wk. ABBA Bible course which was held at Virginia's home church at Highland, SK. In the winter months of 1939-40 they both attended ABBA, and among other things they did together, they sang in quartets and duets in churches, on radio broadcasts - and on the side, their love for each other began to blossom. On a lovely summer's day, July 5, 1942, they were married at Virginia's home church in Highland, SK . Although of humble beginnings in every way, God blessed Virginia with more than a beautiful voice to sing - she was a multi-talented gal. When asked a few years ago how, when and where she learned to play a variety of musical instruments, she replied nonchalantly, "Oh, I don't know." She could play by ear, by note, transpose off the top of her head whether playing piano, organ, guitar or autoharp. At the same time, she could sing and harmonize any part from soprano to tenor and, believe it or not, our Mama sang bass! During a lifetime of serving her Lord, she also taught us kids to sing together, as a family, helped with children's choirs and seldom missed an opportunity to sing in whatever choir herself. "She did what she could." In the summer of 1943, while Lorne was deployed overseas, Virginia taught Daily Vacation Bible School at small churches, eventually returning to ABBA, graduating spring of 1945. When Lorne returned the end of that year they lived in Kildeer, SK where their first child, Elaine, was born. Two years later, they relocated to Lloydminster, SK and by 1954, God had blessed their little family with Carol, Joan and Norris. In July 1955, as active members of Lloydminster Baptist Church and with four young children in tow, Virginia and Lorne helped pioneer a summer camping program which was the first of many they would be involved in the rest of their lives. In 1957, God opened the way to relocate to northern Minnesota to pastor Sand Lake Baptist Church as well as to minister to the Chippewa Indians on Inger reservation close by. God had been preparing Virginia to be a pastor's wife and she continued to invest her gifts and talents creatively into the lives of many people without partiality. She practiced hospitality at every turn. Our living room was on occasion the scene of a native wedding ceremony and annually the same room was a sorting depot for boxes of used clothing for native people. The family was not complete yet and in 1958, God added another son, Brian. From humble beginnings through humble "continuings", our Mom was a great mother to us five kids five - a handful, she'd often say. Her good ol' home cooking was quickly savored then devoured by her family who were all born with healthy Swedish appetites. Our plates were always licked clean so rarely were there any leftovers, but somehow, some way, there was always room for one or a dozen more at our table. "She did what she could." Summer camp work continued to be a big part of Virginia's life and ministry, whether at Waskish Bible Camp on Red Lake or helping establish Tabor Bible Camp at Jesse Lake. Of course, Virginia was always found in the kitchen organizing and helping cook for hungry mouths. Life was not easy at any stage, but Virginia was always up for the challenge and never one to complain. Among her many gifts and talents was the ability to live on a shoestring budget. As the family bookkeeper and secretary, she kept that black ledger book balanced to the penny! And if anyone could stretch the "dough", it was our Mom! Speaking of dough, pizza had already been invented, but we believe our Mom went a step further and invented (and should have patented!) "Thin Crust Pizza" back in the day! Her lifestyle embodied the word "thrifty". If anyone could "make do", it was our Mom. Whether it was mending and re-mending, re-using and re-using plastic bags, canning and freezing garden produce, making jams, jellies, syrups, or something out of all the berries her voracious berry-picking husband brought home, "She did what she could." But don't feel too sorry for us - we also dined on delicacies such as venison, fresh-water fish, wild rice and maple syrup - all without the price tag! There's something about our early years we have to admit though. Some of us kids were actually embarrassed that our school lunches were made with homemade bread. We begged Mom to buy store-bought white bread for a treat - imagine! But we recanted long ago and have since been raving about her cinnamon rolls, Swedish pancakes, lefse, delicious waffles and Christmas morning tea ring - to name a few things! In 1962, God led Lorne, Virginia and family to SpringVale Baptist Church near Cambridge, MN. Besides meeting the challenges of raising a growing family, Virginia joyfully served her Lord and others as a pastor's wife and again in summer Bible camps at Trout Lake and Mink Lake. God opened up a new kind of ministry in 1966 and Virginia accepted the challenge of working outside the home with mentally impaired residents at the local state hospital and in the kitchen at Grandview Christian Home. The following few years,Virginia and Lorne were involved in the beginnings of King's Ranch, a retreat center near Cambridge and once again Virginia's hands and feet were serving meals to yet many more. In the early 1970's, God opened up another new chapter for Virginia and Lorne in northwestern Ontario and for Virginia it included more cooking and taking care of native students. She always made time to be involved in Ladies' Bible Studies and prayer groups and never hesitated to lend a hand or two to help babysit for neighbors and friends. Retirement didn't change Virginia's activity level much and she didn't hang up her apron by any stretch of the imagination! In 1987 after moving back to the USA, settling into community and church life at First Baptist in Cambridge, MN, they did volunteer work for Meals-on-Wheels, Senior Center and Grandview Christian Home. Virginia willingly gave of her time and energies to Shalom Shop and MOMS, but was never too busy to help family, friends and neighbors and participate in Bible Study and Prayer groups. "She did what she could". Expanding their volunteer work to the warm and sunny south during the cold northern winters, Virginia did more than putting on her apron again. She said she'd never go to Florida just to sit on the beach :) At New Tribes Mission Homes for retired missionaries, she, along with other volunteers, did whatever needed to be done which included helping to pioneer new property, camping out and literally running for water. Nothing was beneath her to lend a hand to. As if she wasn't busy enough in any chapter of her life, she faithfully corresponded, by hand. Until she could no longer write legibly, she kept in touch with family and friends across the globe - a delight both to her and all those on the receiving end. Virginia certainly knew how to work and she also knew how to have fun. Working alongside other volunteers from around the country brought new friendships into her life, some of which developed while playing Skip-bo and Scrabble. In fact, she became known as Scrabble Queen. Until the last couple years of her life, you'd be hard-pressed to beat her in the game! And you didn't really need a dictionary when playing with her since she knew off the top of her head if a word was permissible or not. If there was any word she didn't know the meaning of, it was the word "bored" :) In her youth, she loved to play baseball and in her later years, she watched and cheered for the Minnesota Twins regularly. One evening when residing at Mill Ridge, Lorne said in a phone call to daughter Elaine that they probably wouldn't play Scrabble that evening because he couldn't pry Virginia away from the ball game! She, age 93 then, added that she would play Scrabble - if she could work it into her schedule :) Throughout her life in her quiet way, she moved the hand of God through prayer, not only for family and friends, but for people and needs around the world. Eternity will reveal the fruit of her life on earth. She set a high standard, leaving us an example to faithfully follow the Lord to the very end. Because she simply trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior, she is secure and rejoicing in His presence forever. "Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: 'There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!' Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise." Proverbs 31: 28-31 Beloved wife, mother sister, grandma, great-grandma, auntie and friend Virginia is survived by her husband Lorne Anderson of Cambridge, MN; brothers: Stanley Sjodin of Estevan, SK, Glenn (Sylvia) Sjodin of Bend, OR; five children: Elaine (Richard) Wood of Bethany, OK, Carol (James) Sperry of Cambridge, MN, Joan (Ralph) Sharp of Edmonton, AB, Norris Anderson of Lake Lillian, MN, Brian (Melissa) Anderson of San Antonio, TX; 12 grandchildren: Julia (Bradley) Baurain of Caronport, SK, Priscilla Wood of Bethany, OK, Peter (Jennifer) Sperry of Hugo, MN, Anne Sperry of Minneapolis, MN, Jodi (Edward) Gardiner of Temecula, CA, Amy (Mark) Schiffner of Billings, MT, Heidi Sharp of Calgary, AB, Jonathan Sharp of Grande Prairie, AB, Nate (Brittany) Anderson of Moorhead, MN, Stacy Anderson of Charlotte, NC,Willow Anderson of San Antonio, TX, Leif Anderson of San Antonio, TX; 16 great-grandchildren: Kristen, Caroline, Isaiah and Anna Baurain, Blair, Livia and Erik Sperry, Emma, Meghan, Katie and Andrew Gardiner, Alec, Annika, Marissa and Judith Schiffner, Harper Anderson, and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. The family of Virginia Anderson wishes to extend our sincere thanks to all the wonderful caring staff of Gracepointe Crossing, Dr. Barry Larson, Guardian Angels Elim Home Care and Hospice staff, and all in the church and community who visited. For all the kind help and support of Carlson-Lillemoen Funeral Home of Cambridge, the family is extremely grateful.