Gertrude Sofie Tveit, 88
Gertrude Sofie Tveit was born on August 14, 1925 near Roosevelt, MN in Lakewood Township to Olaf and Olga (Anensen) Tveit. She grew up in Roosevelt on her grandfather Torjus and Hege Tveit’s family homestead. On Thanksgiving Day of 1945, she went to California to work at the ship yards. She returned by train to marry Palmer B. Hexum in June of 1946. Together, they lived in Roosevelt and owned and operated a beer parlor called The Wildwood Inn. They had three children, Ronald (born in Warroad in 1948), Cecile (born in Baudette in 1950), and after selling the parlor and moving to Roseau, Peter (born in Roseau in 1953).
In the late 1950’s, Palmer and Gertie built a house together in Roseau, and Gertie start working at Polaris Industries in August of 1967. They later purchased a cabin on Springsteel Island where they enjoyed the summers so much, they built a house and moved there in 1981. After getting the foundation done, Gertie continued to work on the inside of the house with Palmer helping when he could. After Palmer’s death in March of 1991; Gertie retired from Polaris in March of 1994 after 26 ½ years.
She met Roy Sunne in Baudette at the Brink Center where she would go and listen to music and dance. They were married in January of 1999, and continued their tradition of weekly meals at the Brink Center and seldom missed the music and dancing. They enjoyed bowling together and took a trip to Norway to visit family. Gertie enjoyed bowling for over 30 years. She traveled to many out of state tournaments and was able to see many memorable sites and enjoyed great times with friends. She remained active in bowling through 2009. After her stroke in 2010, she moved to the Warroad Senior Living Center. She also enjoyed playing guitar and piano, singing and dancing, being outdoors, gardening, taking walks, traveling, reading, bingo and playing cards. She loved any type of “get together,” was always willing to lend a helping hand and most of all, she loved all of her family.
Gertie passed away on November 30, 2013 at the Warroad Senior Living Center at the age of 88, just shy of the next Tveit family reunion she was so looking forward to.
She is survived by her daughter, Cecile of Warroad; son, Ronald of Roseau; grandchildren, Renee (Craig) Colden of Warroad and their children, Michael, Kayla and Dillon; Leslie (Ben) Schuhbauer of St. Paul and their children, Nadia and Benno; and Brian (Trudi) of Roseau; many nieces and nephews and the extended Sunne family.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Palmer and Roy; son, Peter; siblings, Aggie, Thorwald, Les, Cecilia, and Clifford.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, December 7th at 10:30 AM at the Warroad Senior Living Center. Interment will be at the Silent City Cemetery.
