Obituary: Geraldine Greta Sortedahl
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Geraldine Greta "Gerrie" Sortedahl was born on Feb. 29, 1928, to Henry Dietrich and Greta Grace (Peterson) Weigel in St. Paul. She was baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Raised in St. Paul, Geraldine and her siblings grew up poor, but never knew it. She often talked about her love of figure skating during her childhood and spending time with her sisters, who were also deemed her best friends. Through her unity in marriage to Harland M. Sortedahl, she was blessed with five children, Judith, Barbara, Brian, Nancy and Kraig.
Gerrie was a homemaker and raised her young family on a farm in Munger. Her ties remained strong there as she continued going to the Munger Good Fellowship Club for many years and maintained those friendships throughout her life. In 1969, the family relocated to Carlton, where she would remain. After raising her children, Gerrie went to work at the Raiter Clinic as a clerical worker until she retired, at the age of 62. Gerrie passed away, with her family by her side, on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet, at the age of 95 years, 1 month, and 17 days.
Gerrie enjoyed sewing, cross stitching, playing solitaire, and getting her house ready for the next holiday. Her yard was always kept neat and she loved her flowers and gardens. While she was not known for her cooking, she did love going out to eat and had an appetite for food. "Wheel of Fortune" was a favorite TV show for many years, and most recently she enjoyed watching it with her friends Crystal and Duane. Throughout her life Gerrie loved traveling. She took numerous trips with her family, friends, and grandchildren. Above all, "Grandma," as most knew her, enjoyed watching her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and honorary children play sports. For over 52 years, Grandma could be found in her special spot at the Carlton gym watching volleyball. For many years she never missed a game and even traveled with the team to their away games. In recent years, she made it a priority to make it to all the great-grandchildren's games. It didn't matter if it was volleyball or hockey, she made sure to be there. Her family, friends, and fear of missing out on anything was her life, and she will be so deeply missed.
Geraldine is survived by her children Barbara (Allan) Soukkala of Cloquet, Nancy (Gerald) Zielinski of Centerville, Pennsylvania, and Kraig (Alyson) Sortedahl of Gilbert; nine grandchildren, countless great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Esther Weigel; her daughter Judith's forever guy, Zales Davidson; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her children Judith Lynn Anderson and Brian Scott Sortedahl; her brother, Robert Weigel; three sisters, Ruth Bergstrom, Carol Meyer and Dona Morris; great-grandson Cooper Lamb and great-great-granddaughter Elaine Lamb.
Gerrie's family would like to thank the staff at Community Memorial Hospital and Inter-Faith Care Center for their wonderful care.
Services were held April 19 at Nelson Funeral Care in Cloquet, with interment in the Hillside Cemetery in Carlton at a later date. Nelson Funeral Care of Cloquet is entrusted with arrangements.
