Josephine Magdaline Lommen, 90, of Minot died peacefully on December 24, 2023. She was born on August 15, 1933, in Spring Township of Pierce County, North Dakota, a daughter of Ferdinand “Fred” and Mary (Heit) Kraft. She attended country school and spent most of her childhood on the family farms where she was raised in Pierce and Rolette Counties.
As a teenager and young adult, she worked at the Drake Bakery in Drake. It was there that she met Bertram Lommen, who had just finished a stint in the U.S. Air Force. Bertram and Josephine married on November 4, 1961, at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. They made their home in Drake where Josephine was a full-time homemaker and part-time Fuller Brush salesperson before moving the family to Surrey in 1971. Over the years, Josephine also worked at Kraft Greenhouse, NSP, Thrifty Scot Hotel, and International Inn. Bertram died on February 23, 1989. Josephine continued to reside in Surrey until 2022 when she moved to Edgewood Vista in Minot.
She was a longstanding member of St. Leo’s Catholic Church and its Confraternity of Christian Mothers and more recently Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church. She enjoyed her involvement with the Moose Lodge, where she was a member for almost twenty years. Josephine loved crocheting, reading, gardening, sewing, traveling, and her visits with Deacon Steve Streitz nearly every Monday morning.
Josephine is survived by her loving family including her children: Gerald (Barb) Lommen of Ballwin, Missouri; Jeffrey (Valerie) Lommen of Rosemount, Minnesota; Susan Lommen (Steve Foley) of Minot; and Curt (Angie) Lommen of Rochester Hills, Michigan. Also surviving are six grandchildren: Eric/Eris, Katie, Sarah, Madeline, Lucas and Elise; great grandchild Henley; sister Margaret Stone of Minot; sister-in-law Elaine Kraft of Rugby; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband Bertram, her parents, an infant son, and brothers Edward, Frank, Johnny, and Andrew.
Visitation: Friday, December 29, 2023 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thomas Family Funeral Home – Minot
Vigil Prayer Service: Friday at 7:00 p.m. Thomas Family Funeral Home – Minot
Mass of Christian Burial: Saturday, December 30, 2023 10:30 a.m. Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church – Minot
Interment: Rosehill Memorial Park – Minot
Memorials may be made to the National Kidney Foundation.
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