Florence Helen (Thorson) Harper, 88 years old, was born May 6, 1922, the daughter of Ted and Mary (Danielson) Thorson, at the farm home of her grandparent's, Sam and Betsy Thorson, in Forde Township, Nelson County. She was baptized at Bergen Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, also in Forde Township. She attended grade school in both Devils Lake and a country school in Forde Township; her high school years were all in Tolna.

Florence married Percy Harper shortly after high school graduation in 1941. They lived in Bremerton, Washington, for a couple of years during the war and then returned to Tolna for the rest of their married life. He had various businesses in Tolna for some forty-three years, eighteen of them in the Fairway grocery store with Florence as a working partner. After retirement in 1975 they traveled a bit, but during the school year Percy drove a school bus and Florence worked part-time as an assistant cook in the Tolna school system. They enjoyed small town life and were often host to family gatherings at their large home.

Florence was a prolific gardener during the summer months of retirement in Tolna and annually canned as many as 100 jars of pickles. She had refinished many pieces of wood furniture over the years and took these with her when she moved to Grand Forks in 1986 after Percy's death. In recent years she enjoyed reading, watching the Twins baseball games, Sioux hockey and women's basketball, an occasional casino outing and spending time with friends.

Florence passed away peacefully at the Valley Eldercare Center in Grand Forks on June 17, 2010. She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents Ted and Mary (Danielson) Thorson; one brother, Stanley; and three sisters, Bernice, Ione and Mavis.

One sister, Marian Flohr still resides in Tolna. Florence is also survived by her three children, son Richard (Maurita) of St. George, Utah, daughter Mary Lou of Grand Forks, and son Jack (Karen) of Brighton, Illinois. At the time of her death Florence had 7 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren.

There will be a graveside committal service for Florence at the Tolna Cemetery on Monday, June 28, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. Officiating will be the Reverend David Nichols. Following the committal service there will be a time for fellowship and coffee at the American Lutheran Church in Tolna.

Arrangements with the Aaker Funeral Home of Lakota, ND