Luverne Arbutus Lundeberg

Luverne A. Lundeberg, longtime resident of Milwaukie, Oregon, died February 6th at Young at Heart Care Home in Portland. She was 93.

Luverne was born in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, the daughter of Arthur Constantine Carlson and Florence Josephine (Larson) Carlson. She was the eighth of 10 children raised by Arthur and Florence, who operated a dairy farm northeast of the Twin Cities, near the Wisconsin border.

Luverne, passionate about reading and learning throughout her life, started school a year early and graduated from Osceola (Wisconsin) High School in 1943 shortly after her 17th birthday. Wanting to join the Cadet Nurse Corps but unable to meet the age requirement of 18, she first spent a year managing the household and family of a physician in Bayport, Minnesota.

Subsequently signing on with the Cadet Nurse Corps, she enrolled in nursing school at The Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, and her education included six months of rural nursing training in the northern Minnesota town of Crookston. There she met her future husband, World War II Army veteran Harold Thomas Lundeberg, the younger brother of one of the doctors Luverne worked with.

Luverne and Harold were married October 30, 1948, at the Carlson family’s home church, Elim Lutheran, in Scandia, Minnesota. Their daughter Sandy was born the next year while Harold was studying chemistry at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, and their first son, Duane, followed in 1950 after the family had moved to Seattle.

The couple’s three younger children were also born in Seattle – Craig in 1953, Debby in 1955 and Steve in 1963 – before the Lundebergs moved to Milwaukie in 1964 when Harold’s employer, American Cyanamid, transferred him to Oregon.

Tragedy struck in 1975 when Harold, a talented athlete and faithful exerciser, suffered a heart attack after jogging and died 10 days before his 54th birthday.

Luverne stayed in the family home on Mulberry Drive for 30 more years before moving a mile south down River Road into an apartment at Homewoods on the Willamette, where she resided until sustaining a hip fracture in September. Following surgery and rehabilitation, she moved into Young at Heart.

Throughout her time in Oregon, Luverne was an active member of Milwaukie Lutheran Church and was proud of her multiple complete reads of the Bible. More important to her than those achievements or her church attendance, though, was actively trying to live her faith, particularly through her devotion to family members immediate and extended.

Luverne enjoyed listening to many types of music and keeping up with current events. She was an enthusiastic sports fan, rooting for the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon State Beavers, Seattle Mariners and especially the teams her children played on.

An avid walker, Luverne covered 2 miles daily well past age 90, and she was a passionate Scrabble player into her final days – eager to compete and proud of owning one of the first Scrabble games to arrive at the Oak Grove Fred Meyer shortly after the family’s move to Milwaukie.

Luverne is survived by her sister Dolores Nelson of Coon Rapids, Minnesota; brother Luther Carlson and wife Mavis of Bothell, Washington; daughters Sandy Mark and husband Dennis of Mission Viejo, California, and Debby Walthers and husband Mike of Portland; sons Duane and wife Christina of Portland, Craig and wife Beth of Sammamish, Washington, and Steve and wife Laurie of Lebanon, Oregon; grandchildren Megan Lundeberg, Matthew Lundeberg and Jamie Walthers of Portland; Chris Walthers and wife Taylor of Gresham; Jeff Mark and wife Melinda of Moorpark, California; Robin Hinck and husband Steve of Santa Barbara, California; Daniel Lundeberg and wife Erin of North Bend, Washington; Brandon Lundeberg of Sammamish; Bob Lundeberg and wife Amanda of Boise; and Pam Lundeberg of Boulder, Colorado; and great-grandchildren Carmen and Sierra Walthers of Gresham, Anna Hinck of Santa Barbara, California; Emily and Avery Mark of Moorpark, California; and Gunnar Lundeberg of North Bend, Washington; and many nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband and parents, Luverne was preceded in death by brothers Evald Carlson, Lawrence Carlson, Wesley Carlson and Wally Carlson and sisters Irene Sathrum, Pearl Dornfeld and Gen Peterson.

A private family burial will take place at Willamette National Cemetery on Tuesday, February 11th. A public memorial service will be held at 11:30 a. m. Saturday, February 29th, at Milwaukie Lutheran Church, 3810 SE Lake Road.

 In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to the American Heart Association and the Salvation Army.

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