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Vivian Bengtson Obituary – 7/6/2012


Vivian (Nystrom) Bengtson, age 101, of Dassel, died Friday, July 6, 2012, at the Augustana Lakeside Health Care Center of Dassel.

A memorial celebration of Vivian’s life will take place Saturday, July 21 at 2 p.m. from the Evangelical Covenant Church in Dassel. The Rev. Keith Carlson will officiate.

There will be a time to gather with the Bengtson family one hour prior to the service at the church.

Vivian was born Dec. 7, 1910, in Dassel to Ole and Ida (Johnson) Nystrom.

Ole was a shoemaker and his shop was a part of Dassel’s vibrant downtown scene in the 1920s and ‘30s. Ida ran a boarding house, so even though Vivian was an only child, she was never lonely, because country cousins boarded there Monday through Friday in order to attend Dassel High School.

Vivian graduated from Dassel High School in 1929, and then attended Calhoun Secretarial School in Minneapolis. Following that, she worked at the State Bank of Cokato during the 1930s.

Vivian was a lifetime member of the Dassel Covenant Church, where she was baptized and confirmed.

She was united in marriage to Arvid Bengtson in 1934 in Dubuque, IA, by Arvid’s pastoral brothers, the Revs. John and Bethel Bengtson.

Vivian and Arvid moved to a farm one mile south of Dassel in the early 1940s, where they raised their children. In 1962, they moved back into the village of Dassel.

In 1997, Vivian moved into Dassel Lakeside Apartments to be near Arvid, who was then in the attached nursing home.

She was an active volunteer at the Dassel Lakeside Nursing Home for many years, and was a member of Covenant Women into her 80s. A talented ceramic artist, Vivian shared her products with family and friends.

Arvid died Feb. 25, 1998, and Vivian moved into the Dassel Lakeside Nursing Home in February 2004.

She is survived by her children, Mary Jo Kjell (David), Gloria Haapala (David), and John Bengtson (Clarice); seven grandchildren, Deb Tanner, David, Tim, John and Paul Bengtson, Steve Kjell, and Erik Haapala; 12 great-grandchildren; and many other beloved family members.

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