Orpha Thews

Born on March 7th, 1923, in Roseau, Minnesota, Orpha Gertrude Bjorkman was the eldest of five children born to Mollie and Albin Bjorkman. Her sisters Eleanore and Marilyn and her brothers Mylo and Jim were, in addition to being family, also among her best friends. Throughout her childhood, Orpha was nurtured and shaped by her family who provided her with the love and support to find her vocation in life. Orpha attended elementary school in rural Roseau County, where she assisted younger children and others in need of help. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a teacher, a profession to which she would eventually devote much of her life. In 1940 Orpha graduated from Roseau High School, then entered her first teacher-training program. Over the years, she continued to pursue her education, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in education in 1972. After having moved from Roseau, first to Willmar, then to St. Louis Park, and back to Willmar, Orpha was united in marriage with Verl Jasper Thews on December 28th, 1952. They shared 50 years of life, creating their own family and growing together in faith until Verl's death in 2003. On February 17th, 1954, Orpha and Verl became the proud parents of twin boys, Michael Verl and Charles Albin. When their family was still young, they moved to Clara City, MN, where Orpha began teaching in the fall of 1960. During the following decades, in addition to teaching until her retirement in 1986, Orpha pursued her interests in history and her Scandinavian heritage and she shared her gifts and talents with the community, serving the congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church, the Clara City Centennial, and her many circles of friends. Ever curious, Orpha loved traveling, finding her way to points across the United States including Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, New York, North Dakota and Washington DC, and venturing to Norway and Sweden to further explore her heritage.Orpha took great delight in the children whose lives she touched as a sister, a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a godmother, a teacher, a mentor and a friend. She rejoiced upon the birth of her grandsons, David Michael in 1984 and Andrew Charles in 1986, and took pride in being their first ?teacher.? As she grew in years,Orpha continued reading and learning, for which she had great passion, and she continued to share her knowledge and wisdom with all who encountered her.On June 10th, 2009, it pleased Almighty God to call His servant Orpha Gertrude Bjorkman Thews to Him in everlasting life. Her life in this world will be celebrated on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009, at 1 o'clock in the afternoon at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Clara City, Minnesota. Orpha is survived by her son Michael Thews and his wife Brenda of Coon Rapids, Minnesota; her grandsons David of Washington, DC, and Andrew of Minneapolis, Minnesota; her sisters Eleanor Conant of Glenwood, Minnesota, and Marilyn Abrahamson and her husband Luther of Sun City, Arizona; her brothers Mylo Bjorkman and his wife Lucy of Sartell, Minnesota, and James Bjorkman of The Hague, The Netherlands; her sister-in-law Marlene Beekmann and her husband Darold of St. Louis Park, Minnesota; and many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.Orpha is preceded in death by her husband Verl, her son Charles, her brothers-in-law Bob Conant and John Miller, and her sisters-in-law Iva Miller and Charlotte Thews.