Julia Fransen

Julia Ekse was born on the family farm near Wallace, South Dakota on May 8, 1916 to Knute & Brita (Shjeruheim) Ekse. She was the youngest of sixteen children. In 1941, Julia moved to San Francisco with a sister and cousin and worked at an ammunition factory and later at an oil refinery. After the war, she moved back to South Dakota graduating from Beauty school in Rapid City. She married Harold Fransen on July 26, 1947 in Sturgis. While living in Groton, Julia worked at St. Luke's Hospital in pediatrics as an aide. She loved caring for the babies and children. She was a member of ELCA Lutheran Church all her life. Julia was a woman of strong faith and believed all of life's trials could be solved by prayer. Julia was known as a fabulous cook and famous for her delicious apple pie and potato salad. She was bilingual and very proud of her Norwegian heritage. At meals she always blessed the food with the Norwegian table prayer to the delight of her family. She was an avid reader and loved gardening. After her husband's death in 1988, Julia moved to Wheatland, WY to be near her daughter Barb and her family. In February 2012, she moved to Shepherd of the Valley Nursing Home in Casper, WY. Her survivors include Linda (Jim) Bahr, Groton, SD; Larry (Lynette) Fransen, Casper, WY; Barb (Brian) Larson, Wheatland, WY; Greg (Erin) Fransen, Aspen, CO. She had 10 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and 3 great, great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, 9 brothers, 6 sisters, her parents and one great grandson. Bustards Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Services will be held at the Grace Lutheran Church in Sturgis on Monday, April 25, 2016 at 11a.m. Honorary pallbearers are all her grandchildren who loved her dearly.

Service

Monday, April 25, 2016 11:00am