Vivei N. Strang

Vivei N. Strang age 93 of Baudette, MN, formerly of Detroit Lakes, MN died Tuesday May 1, 2012 at the Lakewood Care Center in Baudette. Vivei Naomi Strang was born on May 5, 1918 in Flom, MN to Benhart and Sophia Larson Gunderson. She attended grade school there. She was a member of the choir and Luther League at Aspelund Lutheran Church in Flom. She was also a member of the Flom 4-H Club. Vivei was a graduate of Twin Valley High School, Twin Valley, MN. She then attended the New York Hair Dressing Academy in Fargo, ND, where she obtained her Minnesota Beauticians License. She later moved to Seattle, Washington, where she obtained a Beautician and Managerchr(39)s License and worked as a Beautician. Vivei was very proud of her time in military service. She served in the United States Coast Guard from July 5, 1943 "? April 5, 1946. She served on bases in Palm Beach, FL, Manhattan Beach, NY, and Seattle, WA. Following her discharge from the Coast Guard, she returned to Seattle, where she worked as a salon manager for a previous employer. She was married on August 5, 1948. In 1950 she moved to Hollywood CA, where she returned to school. She graduated from the Los Angeles Business Prep College, taking accounting and secretarial courses. She worked as a payroll supervisor for the next 30 years, retiring in 1986. Vivei moved back to MN in 1999 to be close to family. She lived at the Winchester Apts. in Detroit Lakes until November 2011 when she moved to the Lakewood Care Center in Baudette, MN. Vivei learned to play the Alto Saxophone, which was a childhood dream of hers. She also loved traveling in the United States and other countries, including, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, the Mediterranean, and Caribbean countries. She was a charter member of Service Girls Post 204. She was also a member of the American Legion, Coast Guard Cutter 92, Beta Sigma Phi, Sons of Norway, and Women of the Moose. She is survived by one brother, Junior Gunderson, of Salinas, CA; one niece, Kathy Bjerke, of Richwood, MN; and great nieces and nephews in Oregon, California, and Minnesota. She was preceded in death by her sister and brother in law, LaVern and Ihlor Bjerke; and her parents.