DiAnn & Gary Svenson Stories

Would you or anyone else you are aware like an extra hard copy funeral program from DiAnn's June 10, 2021 funeral?  Click here to email a request or leave a note in the comments below. DiAnn's family recognizes that with a mid-week funeral, there may be people who would like a copy mailed to them.   The program includes DiAnn's full obituary , her funeral readings and an insert copy of the touching poem "Gone From My Sight." DiAnn's full online obituary may be found here . DiAnn's tribute remarks may be found here.  

  Of note: the previous version of this blog inadvertently listed locations for each show incorrectly. They are now correct below.  The photo above is DiAnn & Gary Svenson having fun at the 2001 Nordic Fest as Ole & Lena.  At the 2021 Nordic Fest, the beautiful lives of Gary & DiAnn Svenson will be honored through authentic Scandinavian music at Vesterheim National Norwegian-American Museum.  This music continues the authenticity focus that started in advance of the first Nordic Fest in 1967 when Gary and his fellow Jaycees partnered with Dr. Marion and Lila Nelson, Phyllis Leseth, Helga Lund Algyr and more to create the first Nordic Fest. If you're in Decorah for Nordic Fest, please join the fun! On Friday, July 23 , renowned Hardanger fiddler Eden Ehm will give a concert in at  Vesterheim Heritage Park Amphitheater (new outdoor division) fr om 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. On Saturday, July 24, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. there will be a Music Jam with the distinguished Anna Rue and fri

 Thanks, Marge Doser for today's wonderful story! In 2010, my sister Rosie, myself DiAnn and Irenus Baumler took a bus sponsored by Lawler Bank to Branson.  On the way down, we discussed the shows we would be seeing and noticed one of them was the popular Shoji Tabuchi show that was the leading show for a few years in Branson.  DiAnn said she thought she knew him because he came to Decorah to perform at the Winneshiek County Fair in the early 1970's.  DiAnn was with Gary in office when he arrived with another country singer in a rusted broken down car. The two  performed for one show.  After the show, they all met in Gary's office and had a beer.  We convinced DiAnn to write the story and we gave to an usher to present to him.  When Shoji received  DiAnn's note, he stopped the show, remembered the fair and Decorah.  He remembered exactly as DiAnn had written it.  He remembered Decorah and the two people who hired him to perform at the fair. After sharing the story with

This photo of DiAnn and her son-in-law Josh Holland was taken on his first motorcycle during Nordic Fest 2003. We teased DiAnn that she looked like a natural Motorcycle Mama, getting a ride from her house to the Decorah High School for the arts and crafts show.  Less than one week after this photo was taken, DiAnn and Gary received the devastating news of DiAnn's stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis in LaCrosse, marking the beginning of a storm of health challenges that lasted the rest of her life. This photo was often attached to email updates sent to loved ones during her care. It became a positive visual after her friend Delores Werling coined the phrase repeated hundreds of times during the 17 weeks of radiation and chemo that followed: "We're cheering you on, DiAnn!"  Thanks so much to everyone who cheered DiAnn on during her health battles, reflecting the help she so often gave others.