Alma (Kloster) Holm

Alma Marie Odelia (Kloster) Holm, age 105, passed away peacefully and surrounded by family on Saturday, July 23, 2022 at the Avantara Care Center in Clark, SD.  A celebration of her life will be at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 4, 2022 at St. Paul Lutheran, 301 S. Smith Street, Clark, SD.  Visitation will be Wednesday, August 3, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Furness Funeral Home on 402 N. Commercial Avenue, Clark, SD. Officiating will be Reverend Aanen Gjovik, Reverend Gary Anderson, and Minister Pam Seefeldt with music provided by Wendy Christman.  Pallbearers will be Geof Furness, Brad Furness, Dave Paulson, Rod Clausen, Michael Florey and Domanick Koch. Burial will follow lunch and be at Clark Center Lutheran Cemetery of rural Clark.

Alma was born on April 5, 1917 on the family farm outside of Clark, SD to Theodore and Louise (Solsrud) Kloster. She was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith. Alma attended country school, graduated from Clark High School in 1936 and attended the Lutheran Bible Institute (LBI) in Minneapolis, MN. When Alma wasn't attending LBI classes, she fulfilled nanny duties for a family, which included child care and traveling with them to Washington, DC, New York and Canada. After graduating from LBI, Alma returned to Clark and worked for the ASC office for three years before working at Augustana Academy in Canton, SD. During this time she began writing letters of encouragement to several US servicemen, including a young man from North Dakota she had met at LBI.  Alma and this young man, Erwin Leonard Holm, were united in marriage on September 17, 1945 at Treasure Island, San Francisco.

After being discharged from the Navy, Erwin and Alma moved to Minneapolis where Erwin attended the Lutheran Seminary and Alma worked at a local department store. Their first child, JoAnn, was born in 1948.  In 1949 they accepted their first parish call to Max, ND and added two more children to their family, Karen   and James. Their second parish was Roslyn, SD where their fourth child, Kedrin, was born. In 1961 they moved to LaMoure, ND, and it was there that Erwin became ill and passed away in 1964. Following his death, Alma and her four children moved to Clark, SD. She worked in the school lunchroom, at Chef Ready Foods and at the Clark Nursing Home. Alma was an active member of St. Paul Lutheran Church and the Clark community. She was a Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teacher for many years, participated in the Ladies Circle sewing quilts for world relief, and taught confirmation classes.  Alma was very proud of her Norwegian heritage and volunteered for many years at the annual St. Paul Lutheran lutefisk suppers and was an active member of the Sons of Norway.  Alma also served as a leader for the Cub Scouts, Brownies and Girl Scouts and was a long-time active member of the Red Cross Volunteers, American Cancer Society and the Clark Historical Society. She was a Lifetime (Gold) Member of the Legion Auxiliary and took pride in selling poppies every Memorial Day.

Alma loved writing stories, letters and sending greeting cards to her friends and family. She enjoyed sewing for her family and gardening and was well known for her beautiful fern peonies. Alma enjoyed playing board games, coffee parties, photography, and traveling— near, or far, she was always eager 'to go'.

Very grateful for having shared her life are her daughter, Karen (Mark) Ceisel of Clark, SD; son, James of Clark, SD; daughter Kedrin (Alain) Wurmser of Vallauris, France; son-in-law Jeffrey Snyder, Sioux Falls, SD. Grandchildren, Janice Miller of Mitchell, SD; Christina (Dustin) Lanners of Sioux Falls, SD; Jazelle (Travis) Koch of Sioux Falls, SD; Amy (Marco) Rodriguez of Chicago, IL; Mark Ceisel Jr. of Portland, OR; Emilie Wurmser of Madrid, Spain; Elisabeth Wurmser of Copenhagen, Denmark. Great Grandchildren Madeline, Aubrey, Paisley and Domanick.

Alma is preceded in death by her parents, husband, daughter JoAnn Snyder in 1997, and sister Thelma Kloster in 2006.

Please CLICK HERE to view Alma's funeral slideshow

Funeral arrangements are with the Furness Funeral Home where there is an online registry at furness funeral home.com