Carolyn Gardiner

Carolyn Agnes Gardiner, age 90 of Vasa, died on Friday morning, September 13, 2024 at Augustana Health Care Center of Hastings.

Carolyn was born on August 14, 1934 in Faribault, the daughter of Andrew and Marian (Haedecke) Hoverstad. She graduated from Kenyon High School in 1952 and went on to work in Saint Paul. There she met her future husband, Wallace Gardiner, where he was attending the University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus. 

While Wally was serving in the US Army, they married on November 5, 1955 in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, with seven people in attendance.

They had a unique start to their marriage! Wally boarded a plane on November 15, 1955 for Verdun, France where he was stationed with the 97th Engineer Battalion. Carolyn joined him on February 6, 1956. She traveled on the Queen Elizabeth ship, a six-day voyage from New York City to Le Havre, France. On February 6, Carolyn went to the U.S. Embassy where Forest Wipperling from Goodhue, MN, was working.

They purchased an 8' x 25' trailer and lived in Verdun until May 1958. Their daughter, Michele, was born in Verdun in April 1957. The total cost for her birth was $4.50, which was for meals during Carolyn's hospital stay. On July 4, 1957, they boarded a train to Paris where they purchased a black VW Beetle, which cost $1,209. While in France, they did some touring of Germany, Switzerland, Holland and France with the VW Beetle. Wally and Carolyn returned to the United States, and Wally was discharged May 26, 1958 in New York City. They had the VW Beetle shipped home and drove it for another 8 years.

They returned to Vasa area and started farming in April 1959, where they farmed throughout their lives. Their son, Wallace 3rd "Davy" was born in March 1960. When growing up, Carolyn actively helped her father with milking and feeding livestock. She enjoyed riding horses throughout her life, and did a great job of bringing cows back from the Belle Creek stream pasture for milking. She was also a 4-H leader when their children were younger.

She was an active member of Vasa Lutheran Church, where she taught Sunday school and was involved as a Miriam girl's leader. Edith Edstrom and Violet Sammelson recruited Carolyn to prepare meat and broth for Doppa i Gryttan (Dip in the Kettle.) After a few years, Carolyn was the organizer, recruiting church members to cook the roast beef and rice pudding. Carolyn, of Norwegian descent, helped to keep this Swedish meal as an event for Vasa Church from 1978-2010.

Carolyn was a wonderful cook. Like her sister, Bernice, she cooked fresh bread weekly. For many celebration meals she would prepare dough for delicious dinner rolls. There were rarely leftover rolls!

After it was no longer possible for Carolyn's father to host Thanksgiving, Carolyn's siblings and their families came to Vasa. She would cook a 20-25 lb. turkey. One year, 50 plus members of the Hoverstad family gathered. As the family continued to grow with marriages and children, Thanksgiving day moved to the Vasa Lutheran Center. Nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews share fond remembrances of those gatherings. In 1996, Carolyn and her sister, Bernice went to Norway and saw the original Hoverstad farm.

She was an avid Vikings fan. She and Wally had season tickets in 1962 and 1963. For 10 games, the cost was $100 for both of them ($5 a piece per game) and could park for $.50! They also enjoyed getting together with neighborhood couples, rotating hosts, to play the card game, 500.

Carolyn will be missed by her loving husband of nearly 69 years, Wally; daughter, Michele of Boise, Idaho; son, Wallace 3rd "Davy" of Vasa; brother Arne (Judy) Hoverstad of New Richland, WI; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Herbert (Helen) Hoverstad and Norval (Juanita) Hoverstad; and sisters, Mary (Clifford) Japs and Bernice (James) Groebner.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 21 at 3:00 pm, with visitation from 1:00 - 3:00 pm, at Vasa Lutheran Church. This service will be live-streamed and available to watch below. A time of fellowship and lunch will follow at the Vasa Lutheran Center. 

Memorials are preferred to Vasa Lutheran Church, Vasa Museum, or donor's choice.

LIVESTREAM INFORMATION: For those who would like to participate in Carolyn’s service via livestream, you can watch the service on Saturday, September 21 at 3:00 pm. It can be viewed by scrolling to the bottom of this page and click PLAY to begin. Please leave a message of support on our Tribute Wall to let the family know you were able to watch the service. If you are having troubles with the Livestream, the service will be available to watch later in the day.