Alice Sathre, 99, of Tioga, North Dakota, passed away on Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at her residence in Tioga, ND.

Alice Julia (Ness) Sathre, born on her mother’s homestead in Cleary Township, Burke County Dec 11, 1921 peacefully passed away Oct 27 at the age of 99 at home with her daughter in Tioga. Always Nature’s caretaker, she prided herself in the park atmosphere of flower gardens and trees she and Karsten created on the Sathre homestead with whom she worked side by side in crop, hay, and cattle production during 69 years of marriage. In 1986 they were designated Burke County Soil Conservation farm of the year.

Community was another important piece of Alice’s life. She was a 4-H leader for more than 30 years earning a Friend of 4-H award for her dedication. She was president of Town & Country Square Dance in Powers Lake for several years and together with Karsten attended dances across the state and region over a span of three decades. A founding member of the Powers Lake Senior Citizens, she served on the board of directors including president. Active in the North Dakota Farmers Union, she attended several state conventions and was instrumental in the youth education program at the county level. Her time and talents reached many other corners of the region via Scandia Lutheran, Sons of Norway, Burke County Council on Aging, and local schools.

Bread and caramel rolls fresh from the oven were staples in her kitchen. Each Christmas making lefse and Scandinavian pastries became a family event, passing tradition on to each generation. She taught herself to sew on a treadle sewing machine and passed that skill on to her children and countless 4-Hers. An 8th grade graduate of Powers Lake, she also became a talented writer even winning a national poetry award for a tribute to Karsten’s life. Besides all the flowers she diligently nurtured, there was always a large vegetable garden and potato patch to plant, care for and harvest each year. The dawn of each day often found Alice with coffee cup in hand surveying the farmyard, removing an unwanted weed, and appreciating the joy, beauty, and tranquility of their corner of the world.

Farming and community were key elements of her life, but she and Karsten valued time with family and friends. Card parties with neighbors were common during winter months. She became a formidable opponent at pool and billiards at the senior center. Many summer evenings were spent fishing at area lakes and rivers and each year was highlighted by a camping trip to western states introducing their children to national parks and historic landmarks. An unforgettable vacation was to Norway to visit relatives and family birthplaces. Remnants of these travels were often preserved in rock and driftwood collections incorporated into flower gardens at home.

Daughter of Norwegian immigrants, Jens Ness and Marie Olson, she and Karsten married May 11, 1941 at Trinity Lutheran in Plentywood, Mt and raised 5 children on the farm: Dennis (Sandy), Eatonton, Ga; Roger (Vivian), Saddlebrooke, Az; Sandra, Minneapolis, Mn; Susan (Robert) Odegaard, Tioga, ND; and Randall (Karla), Wausau, Wi. Proud to call her Grandma are 11 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. Prior to marriage she worked at local farms even preparing meals in a cook car for threshing crews during harvest, Lakeview Hotel in Powers Lake, and as a nanny for a dentist in Hood River, Oregon (1938-41).

She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings (Carl, Olga, Elmer, Melvin, Clarence), husband (2010) and a son, Roger (2021).