Vivian Ione Strand

Vivian Ione (Jones) Strand, age 104, died February 7, 2025 at Pathstone Living, Mankato, MN.

Funeral Service will be at 11 a.m., on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at Calvary Lutheran Church, Rapidan, MN, with visitation one hour prior. Burial will be in Calvary Lutheran Cemetery, Rapidan, MN. Livestream of the service will be available at www.mankatomortuary.com. 

Vivian was born October 9, 1920 in Mankato, MN to Thomas H. and Effie G. Jones. Vivian and her brothers, Floyd, Cliff, and Arvid enjoyed their Rush Lake Community and friends on Hwy 169. Vivian graduated from Garden City High School in 1937.

After graduation she had several jobs to earn money for nurses training. One job was being a housekeeper for a Mankato couple and she would chauffer them to Florida in the winter. Vivian graduated from Methodist Kahler School of Nursing in May of 1944. She enrolled in the Cadet Nurse Corp. but had to return home to care for her ailing grandmother. 

Vivian married Harold O. Strand September 6, 1944 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Rapidan. Harold and Vivian farmed near Rapidan. It was a busy life with Holstein cows, pigs, chickens, and raising crops of corn, beans, oats, alfalfa, and flax. Vivian always had a large garden and preserved the food by canning or freezing it. Thrashing oats was a yearly affair of hard work for the men and the women who fed them. 

Four children completed the Strand family: Roger, Karleen (Joe) Ulman, Gail (Dave) Caven, and Lori.

Vivian used her nursing skills to care for her father-in-law, her husband, Harold who died in 1993 and their precious daughter Lori who died in 2009. She helped many community members with health concerns over the years, and also worked for head start in the summers. 

Vivian was an active member of Calvary Lutheran Church, and the Rapidan Community. Vivian was safely in Texas with her daughter Gail, and son-in-law, Dave Caven for the early covid years. In February of 2023 her son, Roger died. Vivian returned to Minnesota in November of 2023. She enjoyed living at Pathstone Assisted Living, and Pathstone Living. Vivian thoroughly enjoyed her 104th birthday party celebrating with friends, relatives, and church members she hadn’t seen in a while.

Vivian was loved by eight grandchildren, Matt (Juliet) Ulman, Monica (Tim) Thelen, Kim Ernst, Nathan (Erica) Drengler, Tonia (Hathaway) Johnson, Rachel (Brian) Lambert, Kelly (Jeff) Seeger, and Jayme (Ted) Johnson. Vivian also had loving relationships with her 18 great-grandchildren, Lydia, Sylvia, Elise, Tyler, Hailey, Luke, Caleb, Beau, Dylan, Teddy, Jaylea, Blayne, Jordan, Khadija, Charles, Mykiah, Taniyah, and Grace. Vivian was blessed with one great-great-grandchild, Ka’Monie, with another one soon to be born. 

Other special people currently in Vivian’s life are Ruth Sanders, as well as many friends who called and sent cards to let her know how important she was to them. 

Vivian also had many nieces, and nephews who loved their Aunt Vivian.

The family would like to thank the staff at Pathstone for the care and love they gave Vivian, and St. Croix Hospice. 

To honor Vivian’s life, memorials may be given to Calvary Lutheran Church, Rapidan, Wounded Warrior Project, the Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota, or Pathstone Living.

The live stream link below is a complimentary service provided by Mankato Area Funeral Homes.

Unforeseen technical, internet, facility, and/or acoustical circumstances may produce a diminished end product. Please note, if the live stream does not appear, we are attempting to record and publish the service for later viewing.