Orva Steffarud
Orva Adeline Steffarud, 91, passed away
March 9, 2011, at the Brendan House in Kalispell.
She was born July 20, 1919, to Paul and
Bertina (Brovick) Steffarud in Galesburg, N.D. She attended the
Galesburg schools, where she was known as a scholar and athlete.
After graduation, she attended Morehead State Teachers College in
Morehead, Minn. Her introduction to teaching was in a one-room
school house where she taught grades 1-8.
After the untimely death of her father,
Orva and her mother moved to Whitefish to be near an aunt and
uncle. This would be their first and last move. She first taught
junior high math and girls physical education and went on to teach
fifth and sixth grades and later became the principle of the
department.
Orva left Central School in Whitefish
in 1981 to take the position of principle, where she remained until
her retirement in 1985.
With all the honors and recognition
Orva has received, she always said the most important thing she
ever did was taking in two young boys and she raising them as her
own. These young boys did not disappoint Orva or her mother. They
went on to have distinguished careers in the Army and Navy. They
married and raised wonderful families of their own. She always has
and always will be known as “Grandma Orva” to her grandchildren and
great grandchildren.
In 1959, Orva was given the honor of
First Lady of Whitefish. She was chosen for her dedication to the
field of education and her tireless efforts to promote organized
activities for the youth outside the classroom.
She was a dedicated volunteer and
leader in the community. Over the years, she held many offices on
both the local and state level. She was a member of Sons of Norway,
Delta Kappa Gamma, Community Concert and Retired Teachers and was
an active member of Christ Lutheran Church.
Orva served as superintendent and
senior league advisor of the senior youth department at the church.
One of the great highlights of her life was when she chaperoned 17
leaguers to the youth convention in San Francisco in 1955.
She is survived by her two sons and
their wives, Robert and Keiko Brovick, of Chula Vista, Calif., and
Dennis and Frankie Johnson, of San Antonio, Texas; grandchildren
Peter and Shelley Johnson, of Fort Carson, Colo., Patrick and
Kellie Johnson, of San Antonio, Texas, Eugene Brovick, Gloria and
Dennis Davies, all of Chula Vista, Calif., and Ed Brovick, of
Seattle, Wash.; 13 great grandchildren; and cousins Mardel Sievers,
of Fargo, N.D., and Myron Bejelverud, of Galesburg, N.D.
A memorial service will be held to
honor Orva’s Life at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish on March
24, 2011, at 11 a.m.
Arrangements entrusted to Austin
Funeral Home.