Obituary - Norma Emelia Haaland Engleson

Norma Emelia Haaland Engleson who died Aug. 23, 2016, of natural causes, was born to Emelia and Ragnvald Haaland on Feb. 10, 1932, on the family homestead north of Inverness. The weather was so terrible she had to be born at home. Her father went to get a midwife who lived north of Joplin to help. Norma was the fifth of eight children. Norma was baptized in the Lutheran church in Joplin where the Haaland's worshipped. Life on the homestead without running water, electricity and plumbing was primitive by today's standards. Norma was a happy child. Her brothers, Milton, Roald, Carsten; and sisters, Gertrude and Jean have preceded Norma in death. Surviving siblings are Sterling and Wilbur Haaland.

The Haaland family moved to Havre in 1942 for the children's education. Summers were spent on the farm, but the family lived at 637 Third Ave. during the school year. Norma lived in that house until she married Donald A. Engleson on July 16, 1950, and then the rest of her life after she and Don bought the house from Norma's parents in 1957. Norma and Don were high school sweethearts. They had five children, Jerry, Mark, Lynn, Eddy and Kay. Norma truly loved being a mom. She was young and energetic, often mistaken as a "big sister" not the mother of her five children. She was thankful that she did not have to work and could devote herself to her family. There were frequent trips to Beaver Creek when the kids were growing up.

She did enjoy taking classes at Northern Montana College in the late '60s. Doing her homework right alongside her children. She also enjoyed working at the Welfare Office as a clerk typist for three years. But she really was a homebody. Norma loved to cook and bake for her family. She made it look so easy. Her cooking was delicious. There were many big dinners for family and relatives. She was an excellent seamstress, as well, sewing formals and wedding dresses for her daughters. She liked embroidery work and reading in her free time. Sometimes she would read all night if it was a really good book. She enjoyed walking. She even jogged for a while enjoying participating in "fun runs." With no kids at home Norma learned to ski in her late 40s. Norma enjoyed dressing as a witch and scaring neighbor kids on Halloween.

Norma became involved in AFS after daughter Lynn spent a year in the Netherlands with AFS 1971-72. Don and Norma hosted three AFS students, Lotta from Sweden 1975-76, Dubrovka from Yugoslavia 1980 and Nellie from France 1985. In 1983 Norma and Don went with just backpacks to spend three months traveling on a Eurail pass seeing a great deal of Europe. Don said "We would move on to a new country about the time we had figured out the money!" During that trip they saw Lotta in Sweden, Norma's cousins in Norway, Lynn's host family in The Netherlands and attended Dubrovka's wedding in Yugoslavia. Norma was proud of her Norwegian heritage. After visiting Norway the first time in 1977 with her mother, sister and nephew, she wondered how her father was able to leave such a beautiful place at the young age of 16! Don and Norma returned to Europe in 1985 to attend Nellie's wedding in France. They had the travel bug bad, so later went to Australia for three months and New Zealand for three weeks. Friends made on the New Zealand trip have traveled to Havre to visit. Norma kept wonderful journals of all these travels.

Norma is preceded in death by her husband, Don, Aug. 1, 2012; son-in-law, Tom Montgomery, Sept. 26, 1989; and granddaughter, Emily Montgomery, Dec. 3, 2012.

She is survived by her five children, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, with one more great grandchild due in September. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were her pride and joy!

Norma wrote this the fall of 2015, anticipating her eventual death. It was a process she thoroughly enjoyed, remembering back on her life.