Funeral service for Florence Beckman, age 88 of Hettinger, ND will be Monday, March 21, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. at the Centennial Chapel of Evanson Jensen Funeral Homes in Hettiger, ND. Rev. Kathleen Dettmann will officiate. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until the service all at the Centennial Chapel on Monday, March 21st. The burial of her ashes will be in the summer of 2011 at the Bucyrus Cemetery.


Florence Agnes Olson was born on May 28, 1922 to John and Carrie (Hanson) Olson on the family farm south of Bucyrus. She was the sixth of seven children. There were four older brothers, Oscar, Arthur, Harry and Lawrence, one older sister, Ethel, and a younger sister, Evelyn. Florence's mother died when Florence was only four years old, this left her father in the position to fill both roles. He was a hard working, caring man, and Florence loved him dearly.


Florence attended grade school at Pleasant Valley country school, south of Bucyrus, and she attended Bucyrus High School for two years. After her sophomore year, she moved to Mount Vernon, Washington to live with her brother Oscar, and she completed high school there, graduating from Union High School in 1940. While completing high school, she worked in the fields, harvesting beans and strawberries and on the packing lines in the canneries. After graduation, she worked at various jobs, including Sears & Roebucks Co. and as a switchboard operator for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph. She was working the switchboard the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and recalled how crazy things were that day.


In 1942 she returned to North Dakota to live with her father. On November 28, 1943 she married Albert H. Beckman. Six children were born to this union; Douglas, Dean, Sandra, Dick, Nick and Betty Ann. Albert and Florence farmed in partnership with his father, Wilhelm, and in 1962 they bought the farm from him and he retired to Yelm, Washington with his wife Emma. In addition to raising the children, Florence worked very hard on the farm. She helped with the milking, and every year she raised chickens for eggs and butchering. The extra eggs and dressed chickens were sold to supplement the family income. There was always a large garden, and she canned many vegetables, fruits and jellies every year.


After the youngest kids were old enough to leave home alone, she went to work off the farm. She was a waitress at the City Café and an aide and laundry worker at the Hillcrest Care Center for five years. But she was best known as an excellent seamstress. She sewed many of her children's clothes and was very skilled at embroidery and cross stitch. She made many beautiful quilts, pillows and other creations. In 1965 she went to work for Dukart Home Furnishings and quickly learned drapery sewing from Lawrence and Ann Dukart. She became an expert and later sewed for Jerry's Furniture and Peterson's Furniture. She made draperies, window treatments and bedspreads for countless homes and businesses. One batch of draperies even went to Australia. After twenty five years, she stopped sewing drapes, but continued doing alterations and repairs on clothing.


In 1975 she and Albert moved from the farm into Hettinger, after Nick and his family moved from Kansas to farm with Albert. They later sold the farm to Nick and bought a home in north Hettinger. Failing health forced Albert to enter the Hillcrest Care Center in 1992. With Dick living there to help out, Florence was able to continue living in the home she loved so much. Albert passed away in 2002. They were married fifty-eight years.


Florence was a long-time member of the Hettinger Congregational Church and for a time taught Sunday School. She was an active member of the Women's Fellowship and could always be counted on to help when needed. She served in all the various offices of the Senior Citizen's Council and the Second Forty Club and in the early years of the program, she volunteered delivering meals on wheels. For many years she was a regular at the Friday whist games at the Senior Center.


Florence passed away on Wednesday, March 16, 2011, at the Mott Good Samaritan Society Nursing Center. She was preceded in death by her husband, Albert; her son, Dick; her parents, John and Carrie; her brothers, Oscar, Arthur, Harry, Lawrence; and her sister, Ethel.


She is survived by her children, Douglas, Dean (Colleen), Sandra (Robert), Nick (Cindy), and Betty Ann (Lou); her sister, Evelyn Schlichting; her sisters-in-law, Erna (Loren) Crimmins and Joan (Oscar) Olson; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.