LaVonne Blikre

LaVonne Ardis Nygaard was born on October 5, 1928 in Wildrose, Williams County, North Dakota to Norwegian immigrants; Peter and Edna (Tommeraus) Nygaard. Growing up she spent a great deal of time doing farm chores. She attended rural schools near Alamo, ND. She graduated from Alamo High School; then received her Teaching Certificate from Minot State College. Later she graduated from Southern State College, Springfield, SD with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.

In 1948 she met Clair Blikre, while they were both teaching at the same school. She first noticed him when he and the team came in after football practice, he pointed to her and announced "that's the girl I'm going to marry." They married on August 20, 1950 in Alamo and went on to live in Tioga, Butte (Montana) Alexander, Rolla, Stanley, all in North Dakota and Yankton and Springfield, South Dakota. LaVonne taught elementary school in most of these locations. In fact, she has been described by many former students as "the best teacher I ever had."

In 1966 the Blikres settled in Wahpeton, ND when Clair became President of the North Dakota State College of Science—a post he held until 1987. Daughter Cindy was born in 1969, and LaVonne spent much of her time raising Cindy and managing the family's North Dakota farm investments. LaVonne, her dear, late husband Dr. Clair T. Blikre and daughter Cindy were very involved in the Wahpeton community and in particular the North Dakota State College of Science. LaVonne also served as the President of Chapter J PEO in Wahpeton and was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary. She was also an active member of Bethel Lutheran Church, Wahpeton and a proud Friend of the University of North Dakota.

Dr. Blikre passed away in 1991. LaVonne remained in Wahpeton until 2001 when she moved to Fargo into a house she designed herself. In 2005 she was named the Parade Grand Marshall for the NDSCS Homecoming; an honor she described as overwhelming.

In 2009, she moved into the compassionate care of the staff at Bethany Assisted Living and later, Bethany Nursing Home on University. She was in the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley and Kinder Care at the time of her passing.

She is survived by her daughter Cindy Blikre-Roche (Richard), granddaughter Anika Clair, and her sister Pearl Mickelson, Minot, ND. She was preceded in death by her parents Peter and Edna (Tommeraus) Nygaard, sister Lorraine Johnson and husband, Dr. Clair T. Blikre.

LaVonne will be remembered as a proud and supportive wife, a loving and kind mother, and for her unwavering dedication to values of hard-work, honesty, fairness and kindness. Finally, her love of North Dakota was unmatched; her favorite quote when people would question why she stayed on through the tough winters was "the cold weather keeps the riff-raff out."

Her faith in God was great, and thankfully she is now free from the suffering of her illness and reunited with her dear husband who is still greatly missed by his daughter and family.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Lewy Body Dementia Association at www.lbda.org