Gertrude Sundsted
Gertrude Egeland Sundsted, 100, of Plentywood died Nov. 26, 2024.
She was born Sept. 26, 1924, to Olav and Ingeborg Vik, immigrants from western Norway. She grew up on the family farm west of Reserve, the second daughter of five children.
She attended her local country school, Rose Valley, through the eighth grade, spent three years of high school in Medicine Lake and her senior year at Oak Grove Academy in Fargo, N.D., graduating in 1943. Her parents had a strong belief in the value of education, and all children went on to pursue higher degrees. She continued her education at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minn., preparing to teach at a secondary level. Teachers were in short supply during World War II, so she interrupted her education to teach for a school term at Lew Wallace School, east of Antelope. The next year, she returned to Augsburg College and graduated June 2, 1948.
After a year of teaching history and social studies at Oak Grove, she decided that younger children were more to her liking. She returned to Sheridan County where she accepted a teaching position at the Wanso School south of Redstone. That winter of 1949-1950 turned out to be a harrowing experience. She was snowed in and isolated for so long that she ran very low on food and firewood. Her father eventually came by sled and rescued her. Deciding it would be safer to live in town, she taught third and fourth grade at Medicine Lake the next year.
In 1951, she began to date Jorgen Egeland, a fellow Norwegian and acquaintance from childhood, and they married in July.
The Egelands farmed in east Reserve, raising mostly small grains. They also had milk cows and chickens for their own use and sold eggs and cream products in the community. Five daughters and one son were born to this union. Their oldest child, Karen, presented a special challenge in that she was severely handicapped with cerebral palsy. Although Gertrude worried that her other children’s needs too often came second to those of Karen, she came to realize that Karen taught the family to accept difficult things with grace and to appreciate life’s blessings. She found that writing, especially poetry, helped her work through the trauma and helped her commit her loved ones to God’s care. She liked being at home, enjoying reading and teaching her children to love music and to appreciate their Norwegian heritage. Jorgen, and later Jens, were drafted to help with one or two of her many remodeling brainstorms.
When reflecting on her early life, she felt that being a second child had caused her to lack confidence and avoid responsibility. But those who knew her saw something entirely different. Her love for others compelled her to fight tirelessly and with fierce determination for causes she believed in or where she saw injustice, especially where Karen was concerned.
The Egelands were members of the Medicine Lake Lutheran Church and she belonged also to Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Association for Retarded Children and later to Women Involved in Farm Economics.
In 1988, she and Jorgen left the farm, which had been his father’s homestead. Jorgen had battled cancer since 1985 and died in January 1989. She bought a house in Plentywood to be near Karen who was living in the nursing home.
In 1993, she married Jens Sundsted at Nathanael Lutheran Church in Dagmar. They enjoyed many retirement years together traveling and enjoying Sheridan County. Eventually, they moved to The Pioneer Manor and then to La Casa Personal Care. Jens died in early 2019. She lived at La Casa until December 2022 when she moved to SMH nursing home.
She was preceded in death by two husbands, Jorgen Egeland and Jens Sundsted; brothers, Torgeir Vik and Olav Vik; sisters, Gudrun Kampen and Margaret Andersen; and daughter, Karen Egeland.
She is survived by her children, June Johnson of Plentywood, Oda Egeland of Carnation, Wash., Betsy Egeland- Zook of Casper, Wyo., Jon Egeland of Billings and Tammy Egeland of Billings; 12 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
A private family service will take place at a later time.
