Cover photo for Margaret Svingen's Obituary
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1929 Margaret 2015

Margaret Svingen

January 17, 1929 — September 9, 2015

Margaret E. "Betty" Svingen, 86, Fargo, ND passed away on September 9, 2015 at Bethany Retirement Living in Fargo. The Mass of Christian Burial will be on Saturday, September 19 at 2:00 PM at St. John's Catholic Church, Wahpeton, ND. Rosary and visitation will begin one hour prior to Mass at the church. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery, Wahpeton, ND. Arrangements are entrusted to Vertin-Munson Funeral Home, Wahpeton.

Betty was born on January 17, 1929 to Herbert and Lauraine (Murray) Dietz in Wahpeton, ND. She grew up in Wahpeton and graduated from Wahpeton High School in May 1946. Betty attended the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton and received a degree in business, in June 1948. While working as a secretary in the dean's office, Betty met Dale, who had just been honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps after his service during World War II. Betty loved to tell the story of their first date, which had been arranged by a friend. She remembered seeing two men named Svingen at the dean's office — one of them a handsome young Marine and the other an older man who was "not too good-looking." She was ready to bolt out the back door of her parents' home when Dale arrived, but "he turned out to be the right one."

Betty was united in marriage to Dale C. Svingen on December 27, 1950 at St. John's Catholic Church in Wahpeton. They lived in various communities including Murdo, SD, Chokio, MN, and Bowman and Cando, ND while Dale was stringing telephone wire around the tri-state area. They then moved to Steele, ND in 1957, where Betty became a Den Mother for Cub Scouts, taught Catechism, and served the church through the Altar Society. In 1978, they moved to Hazen, ND where Betty became a Girl Scout leader and continued her career of volunteerism through the American Legion Auxiliary, Homemakers, and the Hazen Hospital Auxiliary. When Dale retired as Manager of West River Telephone in 1989, Betty and Dale became "Winter Texans" and enjoyed mentoring young school children in local classrooms through a Foster Grandparent program in South Texas.

Betty's legacy includes her lifelong service to God through the Catholic Church, her devotion to her husband and their 6 children, 12 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren, and service to her community. Betty and Dale made lifelong friends in each town where they lived and worked, and it often seemed as if they knew or were mutual friends with almost everyone in North Dakota. Betty loved to dance, especially with Dale, her true love. She also enjoyed bicycling, camper traveling, music, gardening, sewing, playing cards, and cooking. All of her children graduated from college, and they and their college friends rejoiced when a care package arrived with Betty's homemade buns, date bars, and cookies. Betty was generous with friends, loving to her family, and compassionate with those in need. She lived her entire life in grace and in love.

Betty is survived by her brothers Kenneth (Los Angeles, CA) and Dennis (Hazen, ND) Dietz; her children, Peder (Susan Barton), Duluth, MN; Paul (Suzann) Mt. Horeb, WI and their children Scotti Adrian (Marcelo Moraes), Justin (Adrienne Blow), and Davis (Anna King); David (Julianne) Omaha, NE and their children, Eric, Kyle, and Leah; Dyan (Chuck) Summers, Fargo, ND and their children, Kellen (Vanessa) and Riley; Daniel (Ila), Pierre, SD and their children, Emily and Elena; Donna (David) Lite, Overland Park, KS and their children, Evan and Ryan; numerous nieces and nephews; and her five great-grandchildren, Macy, RaeLynn, Ada, Stella and Maeve.

Betty was preceded in death by her beloved husband of more than 62 years, Dale; her parents; and her brother, Neil Dietz, Jacksonville, FL. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the Svingen family prefers donations to The Nature Conservancy of North Dakota or St. John's Catholic Church in Wahpeton.

Visitation

St. John's Catholic Church
115 2nd Street North
Wahpeton, ND 58075

Saturday, September 19, 2015
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Service

St. John's Catholic Church
115 2nd Street North
Wahpeton, ND 58075

Saturday, September 19, 2015
2:00 PM

Cemetery

Calvary Cemetery-Wahpeton

Wahpeton, ND

Saturday, September 19, 2015
3:00 PM

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