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Myrtle Dangerud, age 95, of Hettinger, ND, passed away on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger, ND.

A Public Visitation will be held on Monday from 9:00am to 9:00pm at the Centennial Chapel of the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger.

A Private family funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at the Hettinger Lutheran Church in Hettinger, ND.  Pastor Selva Periannan will officiate with public burial services to begin at approximately 11:15 a.m. at the Hettinger Cemetery.  Please wear a mask and practice social distancing at the cemetery.

Myrtle's funeral service will be live streamed through our website and can be viewed on Myrtle's obituary.

Serving as casketbearers are her family.

Her laugh unmistakable, a bit mischievous, and always infectious, Myrtle  Dangerud never missed a chance to share a joke, especially one considered less than dainty or fraught with the folly of Ole and Lena.  She prided herself in her fierce independence.  In the midst of her 95th year of life she never failed to answer the same way when asked how she was doing, "Well, I'm warm, well-fed, and still at home."  Those three life basics are often taken for granted.  Myrtle, however, greatly appreciated them, growing up in a rustic, one-bedroom, sod house near Pleasant Ridge, built on the harshness of the South Dakota prairie.  Arriving into this world on April 16, 1926, Myrtle Irene (Randen), was the third to the last child of eleven siblings born to Mathias and Anette (Bye) Randen, immigrants who came from Norway in the early 1900s.  She enjoyed learning immensely, even if it meant a two-mile trek to school in the uncooperative moodiness of the Dakota weather.  She also loved skating and swimming on the Grand River and attending dances and social gatherings.  The quintessential bookworm, her passion for reading never subsided, even in adulthood.  She reminisced about her sibling's shenanigans and love of reading that tempted her to stray from the farmstead's endless chores, but out of that emerging her core belief, "If you didn't work, you didn't eat."  That mindset continued as she worked for room and board to attend high school in Lemmon, South Dakota.  After her schooling, she became employed as a secretary by a local doctor and then later hired as the Hettinger Lutheran Church secretary.

She would meet the love her life, Orval (Orville) Dangerud, at a dance, but World War II would force their young love to patiently wait.  They relied on the back and forth of letter writing to forge their relationship until those turbulent years ended.  When he returned from war, they married in April 1947, spending 53 loving years together, raising three children, Cynthia, Kerry, and Kevin, and building a successful Massey Ferguson implement dealership where she became an integral part of the business as bookkeeper.

Those velvety soft hands never slowed down in the hustle and bustle of her fruitful nine decades.  She did everything with gusto and was adept at a multitude of activities such as composing poetry, painting ceramics, making candles, fashioning beautiful Christmas ornaments and decorations, feeding and befriending the neighborhood squirrels, and schooling others in cards.  Gambling was one of her favorite pastimes.  She enjoyed Bingo halls, bets with rivals, and lottery tickets, but most of all her Lucky 7 slot machines.  Many couldn't get over her success at casinos over the years.  One of the pinnacles of this pastime was hitting a Deadwood jackpot, winning a brand-new Cadillac.  She was a pro at downplaying her luckiness and always maintained that it was the fortune of good friends and family that rubbed off on her.  Her generosity toward others seemed always in play.

Her enthusiasm for sports seemed unrivaled.  A product of the Great Depression, listening to baseball on the radio for her and her family became an essential diversion.  Later on, she faithfully followed the Cubs, Twins, and other favorite teams on TV.  She became an encyclopedia of sports knowledge, from Wimbledon to the Major Leagues.  However, her favorite athletes, her grandchildren, garnered the most attention.  She loved to watch them play and lived for wrestling and volleyball matches, as well as baseball and basketball games.  When they grew up, she continued supporting the local teams and athletes.  She listened religiously to the radio when she could no longer attend in person.  A skilled bowler, she was involved with different leagues and travelled across the country to various tournaments.

She and Orval also loved traveling together, flying to places like Paris, Brazil, Hawaii, and Ireland.  Some of her favorite trips were cross-country in their motor home with their poodle, C.A., heading to the unforgettable Randen Reunions.  These revered, biennial family gatherings reunited her with her precious siblings and their families from various states.  She cherished this togetherness filled with non-stop laughter, abundant food, bottomless coffee pots, dirty jokes, relentless teasing, competitive card tournaments, and rousing match-ups of Trivial Pursuit.

Those travels enriched her life, but being at home was her true luxury.  Her beloved house was a welcome respite any morning of the week.  She always had a hot pot of "robust" coffee brewing-- the concoction so strong, she'd be teased that one didn't even need a mug to drink it.  She paired her sacred beverage with ample homemade goodies, toast slathered with butter and cherry jam, donuts, and other delicious treats.  She would pull out "the special toy box" for her seven grandkids, and then later on, for her great-grandchildren.  Mornings at Grandma Myrtle's home were simply a taste of heaven.

A wise person once said, "When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.  Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."

Our Mom. Our Mother-in-law.  Our Sister-in-Law.  Our Gramma.  Our Great-Gramma. Our Aunt.  Our Neighbor.  Our Pinochle Partner.  Our Betting Buddy.  Our Faithful Sports Fan.  Our Friend.  Our Everything.  Our hearts break to say a final good-bye, but as her seven-year old great-grandson said so sweetly, "She's in our hearts and she'll be with us always."  And that is something she would rejoice.

Myrtle is survived by her children and their spouses, Cynthia (Bruce) Erickson Hettinger, ND, Kerry (Ginger) Dangerud Hettinger, ND; and Kevin Dangerud, Hettinger, ND; Granddaughters, Heidi (Paul) Marek of Sartell, MN, and Aryn Hansen, Mott, ND; Grandsons, Kayle (Chental) Dangerud West Fargo, ND, and Drew Dangerud, Mandan, ND, and Great-grandchildren, Olivia, Xander, Isaiah, and Randen Marek, Sartell, MN, and Ella and Jake Dangerud, West Fargo, ND; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Orval Dangerud, her grandsons, Greg, Chad, and Brian, her siblings and parents.

In lieu of flowers a memorial has been established to the Nighthawks Athletic Booster Club.

Card may be sent to Cynthia Erickson 205 9 ^th Ave NE, Hettinger, ND 58639.