Norma Juntunen, age 76, of Grand Forks, ND passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, July 25, 2024.
Norma (Sollin) Juntunen was born on January 5, 1948 in Rugby, ND to Olaf and Alma (Jelsing) Sollin. She was raised on a farm near Wolford, ND graduating from Wolford High School in 1966. She graduated from St. Andrew’s School of Nursing in 1969 and worked as a nurse at Presentation Medical Center in Rolla where she met and married Wesley Juntunen Jr. Together they farmed east of Rolla and raised four children: Carmyn, Jason, Lorilee, and Ashley. After years of creating a home for her family where she spent countless hours cheering on her children in sports, gardening, canning, making lefse and buns, participating in homemakers club with friends, she returned to nursing in the 1990s. She worked as a nurse in Belcourt and later in Grand Forks after moving there in 1997 to be closer to her kids. In recent years she worked as a medical examiner for insurance companies while holding part-time jobs at Hancock Fabrics and the Chester Fritz Auditorium and the Alerus Event Center where she worked as an usher – enjoying many concerts and events as a side benefit.
In her free time, Norma enjoyed sewing, flower arranging, crafts, traveling to the beach, playing cards, thrift store shopping, reading, and watching favorite TV shows. She loved feeding friends and family and gardening was a passion that grew to multiple gardens that she and her brother Errol tended each year, always sharing the fruits of their labor.
Norma loved spending time with her family, particularly her grandson Vincent who brought her so much joy. Norma will be lovingly remembered for both her generosity and kindness to others and also her stubborn insistence on sitting in a booth at every restaurant. She will be greatly missed by her family members and many friends.
Norma is survived by her children, Carmyn (Jeff Brown) Juntunen of Casper, WY; Jason Juntunen of Rolla, Lorilee Juntunen of Wilmington, NC; Ashley (Collin) Driscoll of Madison, WI; a grandchild, Vincent Brown; sister, Naomi (Joe) Fritel, sister, Colleen (Ray) Mason; brother, Richard (Linda) Sollin; brother Rolland (Lori) Sollin; brother Elton (Peggy) Sollin; brother Erroll Sollin and many nieces and nephews.
Norma was preceded in death by her parents, Olaf and Alma (Jelsing) Sollin; sibling, Sharon Sollin and Wesley Juntunen Jr. (2011).
A Celebration of Life Funeral service will be held on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at First Lutheran Church in Rugby with burial to follow in the Persilla Watts Cemetery.