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Graveside Service Set for Evelyn Westerdahl
TURLOCK, CA (January 7, 2005) - A private graveside service will be conducted
January 15 for 83-year-old Evelyn Westerdahl, widow of Covenant pastor
Wilbur Westerdahl, who died January 1 in the Covenant Village Care Center.
As a helpmate and support to her husband, Wilbur, Evelyn served
congregations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Redwood City, California,
as well as the Minnehaha
Academy in Minneapolis, where Wilbur was president from 1960 until 1976,
and Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock where Wilbur served as the development
officer. She later became a member of Cornerstone Covenant Church in
Turlock, according to Cornerstone pastor Brad Boydston.
A daughter, Terri, noted that Evelyn helped create a friendly atmosphere
at home with a gracious hospitality and her talents were evident in many
ways. She was known for her abilities as a seamstress and interior
decorator, and while at Penninsula Covenant Church she baked Swedish
coffee bread and cookies and invited parishioners to the family's home
following Christmas morning services.
Yet her prowess in the business world was also recognized. While in
Northern California, she was an executive secretary for Arthur Anderson
& Co. and also sold real estate in the Redwood City area.
"Evelyn was a very private person married to a very public man," said
her daughter. "She was the most nurturing and generous mother, taking
great pride in the development and happiness of her two children. Her
gift was to always be doing for others and it gave
her great pleasure."
Born March 20, 1921, in Rockford, Illinois, Evelyn Charlotte Westerdahl
graduated from Rockford High School in 1939 and attended Moody Bible
Institute in Chicago for two years. During this time she met her future
husband and the couple was married August 26, 1944, in Glendale,
California. They moved to Minneapolis in 1944 where their son, Timothy,
was born in 1946 and daughter Teresa Ann "Terri" was born in 1949.
An insulin-dependent diabetic for almost 70 years, Evelyn seldom let
this physical challenge limit her energy and enthusiasm for life, taking
up race walking in her sixties. She and Wilbur also enjoyed their rose
garden and a pair of doves that returned each year to their home in
Turlock after they moved to Covenant Village in 1990.
Evelyn Westerdahl is survived by her children: Timothy Westerdahl of
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and Teresa Westerdahl of San Carlos, California;
and brothers, Richard Olson of Seattle and Roger Olson of Rockford. She
was preceded in death by her husband, Wilbur, who died in 2003.
Remembrances may be made to Cornerstone Covenant Church, 4105 Crowell
Road, Turlock, CA, 95382.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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