Lorna Kay Odegard

Lorna Kay Odegard, 63, of Fargo, ND, died of natural causes Saturday, October 31, 2009, at her home in Fargo. Lorna was born September 14, 1946 in Grand Forks, ND to Ernest L. and Loretta (Stephenson) Odegard. She attended the one room country grade school, Stavanger #3, and graduated from Climax, MN High School in 1964. Lorna then attended the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work in 1968. Lorna worked as a camp counselor at the YMCA camp in Garrison, ND before joining the social staff of Benson County at Minnewaukan, ND in August 1968. She worked at Benson County as a child welfare worker until 1970, working primarily with foster children, foster parents and foster parent groups. In 1970 Lorna moved to Lincoln, Nebraska to attend the University of Nebraska graduate school of social work. In 1972 she accepted a position in Fargo working in a pilot project with Cass County Social Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development as a social worker at one of the first apartment buildings in the U.S. specifically designed for the handicapped. Beginning in 1973, Lorna was a medical social worker at St. Luke’s Hospital in Fargo. From 1999 to 2007 she worked as an aide at Bethany Towers in Fargo. Lorna had a love for cats, especially her cat, RitaMae. She enjoyed reading, puzzles, and ancestry. She had many happy memories of her childhood on the farm near Buxton; she very much loved the land and the area. Lorna is survived by her mother, Loretta Odegard of Fargo, her cat, RitaMae and numerous cousins. She will be greatly missed by all. She was preceded in death by her sister, Marla and her father, Ernest. Funeral Service: 12:00 PM Friday, November 6, 2009 at Bethany Retirement Living Chapel, 201 University Dr. S., Fargo, ND. Visitation: 11:15 – 12:00 PM Friday, at Bethany Retirement Living Chapel, Fargo. Interment: 3:30 PM Friday at Grue Church Cemetery, rural Buxton, ND.