Erna (Galster) Unterseher

Erna Unterseher, 96, of Hazen, passed away, Monday, May 15, 2023, at Elm Crest Manor, New Salem, ND.  Services will be held at 10:00 AM CDT, Friday, May 19, 2023, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Hazen with Pastor Zelwyn Heide officiating.  Burial will follow at the church cemetery.  Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, Thursday, at Barbot Funeral Home, Beulah.

Erna was born on the farm northwest of Hazen, ND on April 2, 1927, the fifth of six children to Bernhard and Emilie (Boeshans) Galster. She was baptized on May 1, 1927 and confirmed on July 20, 1941 at Kronthal area churches.  Erna walked to country school a mile from their home and graduated from the eighth grade.  She met her husband Ervin E. Unterseher while waitressing in Hazen. She liked his smile. They were married at St Matthew’s Lutheran Church on November 16, 1947.

Erna loved farm life and living in the country. In her later years, living at Senior Suites in Hazen and Elm Crest Manor in New Salem, she would often say, “I don’t belong in the city. I’m a farm girl.” Other than a couple years in Billings, MT, Ervin and Erna spent their 52 years together dairy farming south of Hazen. They were blessed with five children over a span of 21 years. Erna achieved her passion in life of being a wife and mother.

Erna’s faith was her foundation. Her devotion to the Lord was evident in her home, letters, and conversations. She cherished tending God’s creation. Erna talked of her childhood when her and her brother gathered wheat bundles and of playing with kittens with her beloved sisters. She enjoyed milking cows, feeding calves, raising chickens, gathering and selling eggs, and tending her garden. Erna was a good cook. If she wasn’t outside working she was in the house cooking. Favorites were German food, canning garden vegetables, making chokecherry jelly, and baking buns.

Erna loved spending time with her family. She would often be found sitting quietly with a smile just listening to everyone talk. Erna enjoyed hobbies of sewing and embroidering. She made many quilts, baby blankets, and doll blankets for friends and family. She loved to embroider dish towels, especially in her retirement. Her hand was steady and her stitches were precise and small; she continued embroidering until she was over 95 years old.

Erna was a kind, sweet soul who never wanted to be a bother. She was a faithful letter writer and loved sending cards and getting mail. She was always concerned if she owed someone a letter.

Left to cherish her memory are her children Jim (Karen) Unterseher of Plymouth, MN; Nancy (Dennis) Determan of Beulah; Harley Unterseher of Danville, AL; Wade (Dorinda) Unterseher of Haskell, OK; and Nicki Miranowski of Blue Earth, MN; 9 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Edna Galster of Bismarck and Ruth Galster of Roseburg, OR; numerous nieces and nephews; and life-long, neighbor lady friends Leatisze Grosz of Hazen and Ann Grosz of New Salem.

She was proceeded in death by her husband Ervin; her parents; brothers Raymond, John, and Lenard Galster; sisters Alma Swenson and Antonia Johnson; and numerous brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.

Arrangements conducted by Barbot Funeral Home, Beulah and Hazen.

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