Audrey Evangeline Johnson was born on February 12, 1923, on a farmstead near Wausa, Nebraska, the youngest child of Frank G. and Edith V. Johnson. She attended country schools in Knox County, NE with her two older sisters and older brother. She then graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1941. After graduation, Audrey worked for the Superintendent of Bloomfield Public School. Her family then moved to Wausa and she worked as a grocery clerk for several stores. She also worked for an insurance lawyer in Wausa.
She would meet her future husband Harold Strom and they would be married on June 25, 1943, in San Antonio, TX. To this union four children would be born: Patricia, Merlin, Dave, and DeAnna. When Harold came home from the service they started out their married life in Omaha, NE where they would take up farming. Harold would work for the Williams Brothers Pipeline in Omaha, then his job changed and he was transferred to West Fargo, ND. They would live near Sabin, MN for two years, before purchasing a farm near Rollag in 1955. They would live and farm there for over 40 years. After Harold’s death in 1996, Audrey would move to Leonhardt Manor in Barnesville where she lived for 20 years. For the past three years, she has been a resident of ValleyCare and Rehab in Barnesville.
Audrey would do the farm work and Harold would help when not working on the pipeline. She was a hard worker who wasn’t afraid of hard work. Audrey was active and held several offices in the Rollag Lutheran Church and the ladies circles. She was also one of the first adult leaders for Tansem Tigers 4-H Club. She was also a member of the Rollag Homemakers group, the American Legion Auxiliary and a lifetime member of the VFW Auxiliary.
Audrey enjoyed cooking, canning, gardening and visiting with friends and relatives. She also enjoyed taking trips and fishing with Harold. She enjoyed dancing, playing cards, and bingo with friends. Her greatest joy was spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. In her later years of life, she contracted macular degeneration which limited her vision, but not her enthusiasm for life.
She is survived by four children: Patricia (Jim) Paulson of Pelican Rapids, MN, Merlin (Pat) Strom of Barnesville, MN, Dave (Mary) Strom of Dent, MN, and Deanna (Kent) Shackelford of Harwood, ND; eight grandchildren: Rebecca, Jamie, Mike, Sandy, Melanie, Judy, Tara, Dillon, 16 great grandchildren, and several nieces, nephews, and a sisters in law Alice Strom of Bloomfield, NE.
She was preceded in death by her husband Harold in 1996, her parents Frank and Edith Johnson, Gladys Johnson, Roswell Johnson, and Judith Strom.
Audrey Strom, age 103, of Barnesville, MN, passed away on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at ValleyCare and Rehab in Barnesville.
Funeral services will be 11:00 AM, Friday, March 13, 2026, at Rollag Lutheran Church in Rollag, MN with Rev. Keith Zeh officiating. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the funeral service on Friday. Burial will follow in Rollag Lutheran Cemetery.
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