Epitome of an Iowa Farm Girl: DiAnn Svenson
Thank you everyone for gathering to celebrate DiAnn, my mom. And there is SO much to celebrate. DiAnn will always be the epitome of an Iowa farm girl: hard-working, modest, honest, kind and loyal, interested in learning and teaching, absolutely in love with kids, and truly dedicated to helping people. And of course, she cooked and baked up a storm with a stamina that matched the seemingly never-ending derecho that hit Eastern Iowa last August 10.
How poetic that today we get to have one of the first funeral lunches in Decorah since COVID began, as Father will announce near the end of Mass. Being the epitome of an Iowa farm girl, Mom may be dancing in heaven over this shift back to safe social connections, despite today’s heat. As we all know, she never wanted anyone to not be well-fed and happy with her dedicated efforts at meals, snacks and more. After the hundreds of funeral lunches she worked her Iowa farm girl magic on here at Saint Benedict’s, today’s return is beautiful. This church remains at the core of her service work in so many ways, including just shy of 50 years of the most meticulous work on church laundry there may have ever been. A job worth doing is worth doing well.
Like any good sense and memory-filled Iowa farm girl story, we’ll get to a few wonderful and warm DiAnn memories shared in preparation for today shortly. Before we do, please take some time today or tomorrow, whenever you are ready, to appreciate the poem “Gone From My Sight” in your funeral program. We deeply appreciate this perfect poem shared by my friend Nassrin Schott. Despite all Mom faced, the suddenness of her passing last Friday was both shocking and peaceful. We believe Mom is only gone from our sight, and we thank you for joining this Memorial Mass of Christian Burial about to begin.
Reflecting on Mom’s life calls to mind the idyllic farmhouse on Centennial Road near Ossian where she was raised with Jeanette, Laverna, Marlene, and Ronnie by her parents, Felix and Bertha. Among Mom’s approximately 125 first cousins – there were A LOT of Ehler and Wenthold connections in the southern half of Winneshiek County in those days – still are – Von, Mary and Bill remember the vast expanse of the farm house’s delight of an upstairs toy room, and the scrumptious smells and magic appearance of food DiAnn and her mother offered throughout the year via their fabulous cooking. Mom filled bags with veggies and leftovers from those magic meals. True to family work ethic form, even work horses Tom and Jerry helped keep the driven Ehler farming efforts moving forward. Mom’s lifelong love for and skill at great conversations was first honed in that farm house among her large circle of family and friends.
Ever the workhorse herself, Mom joined the team at the Hotel Winneshiek Tap Room and ran effort circles around most of her colleagues, a trend she continued in work and volunteer commitments throughout her life. One night, she felt annoyed by the behavior of some customers. She exclaimed to hostess Evelyn Bernatz, who went on to dedicate decades as a hostess at Mabe’s Pizza, “I’m so sick of these married men who come in here without their wives and misbehave! And THAT guy is the worst one of them.”
Evelyn gently lowered DiAnn’s pointer finger back down to her side and offered more context, “THAT guy is actually single and he’s acting that way because he likes you.” That was her formal introduction to Gary Dean Svenson, with whom she would build a family and an incredible legacy of working together at the Winneshiek County Fair, and many other community efforts from 1972 until his 2005 passing.
DiAnn’s love of children included her beloved nieces and nephews, me, Darin, and her beautiful legacy of her in-home day care work for families whose children she loved and tended to like her own. Paul Seiler shares, “From the time I was an infant DiAnn and all the Svenson’s became a second family. I think of all the dinners I stayed for after daycare. All our parents probably should have paid extra for daycare with all her food! DiAnn taught me early how to conquer my fears. Her basement cellar – I hated that basement cellar. Scared me so much! DiAnn knew it. She started taking me down with her to get the Mac and Cheese or Spaghetti O’s for lunch. Eventually after some time she could ask me to go grab something myself and I thought nothing of it! This has stuck with me to this day!”
Extra-beloved niece Sharon remembers, “She used to make so many kinds of Christmas candy including Norwegian specialties. Her kolaches! I also felt she was the matriarch of at least her side of the family. She worked so hard and lovingly on planning Christmas and Easter dinners and gatherings. She would call and check up on sick kids, babies being born, you name it.”
Sister-in-law Linda remembers Gary and DiAnn’s teamwork for many a Svenson family Christmas Eve at the Decorah Fire Department filled with anise candy, Swedish Limpa Bread, and her famous, mouthwatering kolaches. Linda also remembers Mom making sloppy joe mix for many a Nordic Dancer races food booth night, as well as her love of flowers, despite her menaces in deer, rabbits and squirrel.
Mom’s love of sports particularly developed when her son Darin started his own broadcasting career early. She applied her love of learning to full absorption of every sports article she could get her hands on, impressing her son with her knowledge of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa State Cyclones, UNI Panthers, Decorah Vikings, Luther Norse and of course her beloved Chicago Cubs, the team she followed in her mom’s fan footsteps for. And she got to see that World Series win!
Mom remained “of service” throughout her 77 years. She brought tremendous independence, organizational skills, commitment, and a hang-your-laundry-on-the line, scrub-your-floor-on-your-hands-and-knees work ethic distinctive of her generation to her 77 years.
Josh and I loved having Mom join us for special “experience” visits for various Theatre Cedar Rapids shows, and having her walk our gentle dog Baldr with us in Robins, along with Oliver and the late Sparkle. I confess I may have inherited my mom’s work ethic.
Mom’s default mode was helping. Her chosen sister Von remembers, “DiAnn was a rock I leaned on so often. A gem --- a very rare one at that!” Neighbor and beloved friend Edna Schrandt recalls that when she returned home from the hospital after the loss of her beloved Ted in 2013, there was DiAnn, mowing Edna’s lawn for her.
After possibly packing two lifetimes’ hard work into one, Mom enjoyed travel in retirement. She joined Jeanne and Mary Jane on a trip to Nashville. These beloved friends report, “We had a wonderful time going together to hear as much country music as possible. DiAnn knew every word of every song. She had a beautiful voice and we loved to hear her sing. It was an amazing trip!”
As we pause to start her funeral Mass momentarily, Let’s keep these “Epitome of an Iowa Farm Girl” stories going after Mass at Mom’s funeral luncheon! Please join in the community spirit of today and record your own DiAnn story with a smart phone or ask someone with a smart phone to help you record. Send those stories to DiAnnSvenson@gmail.com and we will keep the conversation going.
Mom may be “Gone From Our Sight,” but sharing these stories will keep a piece of the beauty of her spirit with us as we prepare to celebrate her own World Series win of leaving behind a body that gave her a health storm and hearing the other voices gone before her – her parents, siblings, beloved husband, aunts, uncles and more taking up the glad shout: “Here she comes!”
Thank you!
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