Margaret Anderson, age 89, resident of McVille, ND, formerly of Grand Forks and Warwick, ND, died Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at the Nelson County Health System Care Center in McVille.

Margaret Frances McErlane was born January 9, 1918 at Deaconess Hospital in Grand Forks, the daughter of Charles and Fannie (Terrett) McErlane. She was baptized with her younger brother Charles Joseph McErlane on October 5, 1919 at St. Lawrence O'Toole Church in Michigan, ND, by Rev. William Churchill. She was raised and educated in Whitman, ND, graduating Whitman High School on May 29, 1936. She attended the College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN (1936-1937) and the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks (1939-1940), where she was affiliated with Pi Chapter, Alpha Phi Sorority. After enrolling in the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, Devils Lake, ND she graduated with an RN Degree on September 9, 1945. One month before graduation, she and her fellow student nurses were involved in the rescue operations following the Empire Builder train crash at Michigan, ND. At the time of her graduation, she was a member of the Navy Nurse Corps Reserve, but with the end of World War II, was never called to active duty. She followed the nursing profession for more than forty years, serving both in hospital work and as a private duty nurse in Texas, Mississippi, Minnesota, and North Dakota. She was instrumental in the 1952 organizing and initial staffing of the Nelson County Memorial Hospital in Michigan, ND.

Margaret and Willard Raymond Anderson were married June 1, 1955 in Michigan, ND and made their home on the Anderson farm at Warwick, ND. She continued to live in Warwick following Willard's death on June 10, 1958, moving to Grand Forks to care for her parents in 1965. She was a woman blessed with varied interests and the talents to pursue those interests. She was an active member of the parishes in which she lived, including St. Michael and St. Mary Churches in Grand Forks. She enjoyed her extended family, reading, baking, gardening, all kinds of needlework, genealogy, summers at Maple Lake, travel, and reunions. She suffered a stroke in 1997, and while she survived the Great Flood evacuation that year, she has been in declining health in the following years. Since June of 2000 she has been a resident of the Nelson County Health Care Center in McVille.

Margaret is survived by two brothers, Charles J. (Muggy) McErlane of Lakota, ND, and James E. (Pat) McErlane of Placerville, CA; one sister, Mary V. (Dick) Mowbray of Bowie, MD; six nephews; six nieces; and a host of other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband; four brothers, John Terrett McErlane, Edward Clement McErlane, Francis McErlane, and Maurice Dade McErlane; and one sister, Patricia McErlane.

Margaret's Funeral Service will be held at the Stanley-Iverson Funeral Home of McVille, ND, on Monday, October 8, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. Officiating will be the Rev. Fr. Scott Sautner. Interment will be in the Warwick Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Monday for one hour prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Nelson County Health System Care Center, McVille, ND.