Obituary of Alice Soderberg

Alice E. Soderberg, 89, of Forest Lake, formerly of Longville and Maplewood passed away on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at Birchwood Health Care Center in Forest Lake. She was born on September 26, 1924 to Arthur and Marie (Plath) Schmidt in North Branch Township, Minnesota. She was baptized on November 7, 1924 and confirmed in July 1938 at St. John Lutheran Church of Weber, MN. Alice attended the Weber School through 8th grade, and then graduated from Cambridge High School in 1942. After high school she worked at various jobs in the Twin Cities. She was united in marriage to Lloyd Soderberg on September 13, 1947 at St. John Lutheran Church, Weber. They lived in St. Paul until August 8, 1950 when they moved to a home in Maplewood. They became members of Cross Lutheran Church in Maplewood where Alice sang in the choir, served on the altar guild, was the first female to serve on the Board of Deacons, chaired the Board of Evangelism and had a four year involvement in the Bethel Bible Series. She enjoyed gardening so much that she said her day began when she returned from her full time job! In 1983, Alice and Lloyd purchased property on Woman Lake near Longville, MN. They built a retirement home and moved on August 8, 1986. They became members of Salem Lutheran Church of Longville and were active in the purchase of property and planning for a new church building. Lloyd died in a car accident on September 20, 1993 and after Alice recovered from accident injuries, Alice remained on the building finance committee until the new church was built and dedicated in 1998. Alice returned to her retirement home in Longville after the accident and lived there until she was no longer able to live independently. In 2004 she moved to Birchwood Health Care Center in Forest Lake and lived there until her passing. She was active at Birchwood - joined the resident club, attended church services and Bible study. She especially enjoyed trivia games provided by the staff. Alice's parents died in 1946 and 1955, sister Emma died in 1988, brother Lawrence died in 1991 and sister Viola in 2002. Alice's life was interesting and full. In 1971 she had the joy and privilege taking a biblical tour of Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Israel. She was in the midst of teaching the Bethel Bible series at Cross Lutheran Church at this time. In 1974 she toured the Europe continent with a group of friends from the church. She and Lloyd also enjoyed numerous trips within the U.S., Mexico and cruising the warm waters of the Caribbean. They spent winter in Apache Junction and Mesa, AZ from 1986 to 1993. Alice is survived by sister-in-law Lorraine Anderson of Cambridge, brother-in-law Skip Soderberg of Isanti, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.