Norman Sunne
July 13, 1919 — January 1, 2016
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St. Johns Lutheran Church
Norman Sunne
Norman Arnold Sunne, 96, long time Bradley area farmer, died peacefully New Year's Day morning at the Watertown Golden Living Center. He had recently moved from Fay Wookey Memorial Assisted Living, Clark.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 from 4-6 PM at the Furness Funeral Home at Clark and after 10 AM at the Church in Bradley on Thursday morning.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, January 7, 2016 at 11AM in the St. John's Lutheran Church at Bradley with the Minister Marion Grimes officiating. Marvine Obermeier will be the pianist with the Bradley-Crocker Church Choir singing. Also singing will be his daughter, Norma Sunne Street accompanied by his other daughter, Dorothy Sunne. Casketbearers will be Russell & Vance Kerber, Burton & Randy Raymer, Gary Lenzen and Alan Yexley. Burial will follow in the Prairie Hill Cemetery at Bradley.
Norman was born July 13, 1919, to Elmer and Alma Valsvig Sunne in rural Day County, South Dakota. Soon after Norman's birth, the family purchased Grandfather Nels Sunne's homestead in Eden Township, Codington County. Norman was baptized and confirmed at St. Pauli Lutheran Church near Wallace.
Norman's early education was in the Ustrud School near the family farm. After attending high school in Bradley and Florence, he graduated from Lily in 1938. In the fall of 1939 he moved to Eugene, Oregon, where he was employed in carpentry by his uncle, Oscar Hanson. Norman studied sheet metal work in night school, and was recruited by Lockheed Aircraft. He assisted in the war effort first in Burbank and then in Long Beach, California, by helping build P-38 fighter planes. He left California in 1943 and started farming east of Bradley.
November 11, 1944, Norman married Belva Fausch of Bradley. Belva and Norman resided on their Bradley farm for 59 years and retired when Norman was 62. In 2003 they sold their building site and moved to Watertown. In retirement he enjoyed going to auction sales, restoring Model A's and Model T's, and collecting South Dakota license plates.
Norman was a long time member of the Crop Improvement Association, the Cattleman's Association, and the Watertown Elks Club. He served on the St. John's Lutheran Church Council, the Blaine Township Board, and the Bradley School Board. In 1968 he received an Award of Merit for South Dakota Leadership and Services by the Associated School Boards of South Dakota. He was also one of the early members of the South Dakota License Plate Collector Association.
Norman was preceded in death by his wife Belva (2012), his parents, and his younger brother, Arlie Sunne (2005).
Surviving are two daughters, Dorothy Sunne (Bill McElrath) of Forest Lake, Minnesota, and Norma Sunne Street (Lynn) of Rye, Colorado; three grandchildren: Crystal Rae McPherson (Toby) of Cave Creek, AZ; Russell Kerber (Marie Koenig) of Richfield, MN; and Vance Kerber (Lucy) of Chaska, MN; and eight great grandchildren.
Memorials would be preferred to the St. John's Lutheran Church at Bradley in his memory. Memorials can be directed to his family or directly to the Church, St. John's Lutheran Church % Susan Olson,
15845 428th Ave, Bradley, SD 57217
The Furness Funeral Home at Clark is serving the family where there is an on-line registry at
www.furnessfuneralhome.com
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Norman Sunne, please visit our flower store.
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