Leona Torkelsen, 95, long time Cando educator joined The Shepherd on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 at her home in Cando, ND. Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, February 2, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Cando, ND with Pastor Rick Craig officiating. Burial will take place at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Mandan, ND in the spring. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday. Music will be provided by Brenda Halverson and Lynette Lybeck.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Cando Community Library, P.O. Box 798, Cando, ND 58324.

Leona was born to Ole and Sina (Pederson) Daleness in McLean County, ND on March 27th, 1923 and raised with her 7 siblings on their homestead farm south of Ryder ND. Her father, Ole, had broken the virgin sod with oxen, and even through the Great Depression he did not allow his family to want for nutrition as beef and dairy cattle, chicken and hens were raised. With all siblings being assigned chores, Leona had a lifelong aversion to stainless steel (shunning the modern fad), as it was one of her chores to keep the stainless sparkling in the barn's separator room.
Leona attended Romsaas County School, then boarding in Ryder to finish high school. She then attended Minot State Teachers College, receiving an associate's degree in 1942. She spent her first-year teaching at the Romsaas School she attended as a girl. Leona then taught at Ft. Peck, MT and Sherwood, ND before moving to Cando to continue her long career in the Cando Public School system.
In September of 1946, Leona met Art Torkelsen while picking up her mail at the Cando Post Office where he worked. She dated Cal Denton for a few months before being courted by Art until they were married on June 20th, 1948. They just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this past summer. Art and Leona lived in a small, upstairs apartment for the first few years of marriage at the home of Glenn and Charlotte Olson, lifelong friends/confidants. On their 3rd Anniversary they adopted Steven, with James and Heidi to follow.
There being few kindergartens and no government aid/sponsorship for such in 1950's small town America, Leona's love of educating children lead her to open a self-sponsored kindergarten in the pine paneled basement of their beautiful home built by Art in 1950. Leona held kindergarten classes until the mid-1960's when her own children were enrolled at Cando Public School. She then went back to teaching 5th grade, her favorite. In 1973, Leona and other Cando teaching gals (JoAnne Jorde, Bernice Fuchsguber and Verna (Nicholas) Garber) enrolled at Mayville State to upgrade their education from standard teaching degrees to earn full B.A. degrees. During these two summers these gals' husbands performed admirably in their dual roles as sole breadwinners and house-husbands! Upon graduation from Mayville State in 1975, Leona went back to her beloved 5th grade at Cando Public School, teaching full time until her retirement in 1991, then being the always dependable "go to" substitute teacher for local schools in Towner County for several more years.  Art and Leona also became foster parents for their grandchildren, Bradly and Trisha at ages 7 and 6. They raised them through high school, with Leona continuing her love for teaching by helping them many nights with their homework.
Art, Leona and their family enjoyed their summer weekends at the A-frame lake cottage that Art built in 1960 at Rock Lake Beach, Manitoba, Canada.
Leona was a faithful member of Cando Methodist Church through all her years in Cando, serving as a member and officer of Women's Society of Christian Service (later titled, United Methodist Women) and as Sunday School teacher there, "The Church with the Chimes". Leona was a member and officer of The Futorian Club (Their focus was on purchasing playground equipment for the school; small scholarships; financing teens to Boys State/Girls State) for so long she was given "Honorary Emeritus" status.
Most of all, Leona was a devoted mother, helping with homework; serving as "room mother" of her children's elementary classes; "den mother" of Cub Scouts; and director of a children's pageant for Cando's 1959 Diamond Jubilee.
Leona is survived by her husband, Art; their children Steven (Bismarck), James (Cando) and Heidi (Alameda, CA); younger sister Stella Harper of Minot; 2 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren. She was preceded to the Shepherd's care by siblings and their spouses Olga (John Paul), Palmer (Lydia), Clifford (Olive), Elmer (Viola), Myra (Roy) Yonker, and Arthur (Ella); parents Ole and Sina Daleness; father/mother-in-law Torkel and Gudrun Torkelsen and brother-in-law Harry Harper.