Obituary of Luella Wignes

Luella Marvia (Voxland) Wignes, age 96, who grew up on a farm near McIntosh, died Sunday, December 16, 2012, in Columbia, SC. She was born April 22, 1916 to Halvor and Caroline (Klemmetson) Voxland on the family farm, and was the oldest of seven children. She graduated from McIntosh High School in 1933 and attended both UND and Minot State College. After High School, she worked at Bethany Childrens Home in Duluth, MN, and a hospital in Fargo, ND. During WWII, she attended night school in order to be accepted into the Signal Corps Reserve Program at the University of ND. While there, she met and married Sherwood Q. Wignes in 1943. They moved to Minot in 1943 and she continued to live in Minot until recently, when, for health reasons, she moved to be near her children. She was a dedicated wife and loving mother to her children. For many years, she managed income property that she and her late husband purchased until retiring in the mid eighties. She is a long time member of First Lutheran Church in Minot, ND, and over the years was active in PTA, Cub Scouts, YWCA and in the First Lutheran Church Women?s group, holding various offices. Mrs. Wignes liked to travel, often through the Elderhostel program after retirement, and visited many states and countries. She especially enjoyed meeting interesting people on these trips. Mrs. Wignes? husband preceded her in death in 1971. She is survived by her children, son Ronald of Columbia, SC, daughter, Mrs. William (Cheryl) Simmons, of Wexford, PA, her sister, Mrs. Robert (Jordis) Dotson of Coeur d?Alene, Idaho, her brother, Jerome Voxland of McIntosh, Minnesota, her three granddaughters, Mrs. Kyle (Elizabeth) Evans of Wexford, PA., Catherine Maples of Lexington, SC, Sharon Logan of Columbia, SC., and by her great-grandson, Taylor Loveday of Columbia, SC. Arrangements are handled by Woodridge Funeral Home of Lexington, SC (www.woodridgefuneralhome.com). A memorial service and interment in Minot, ND, are planned for a later date. Interment will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens of Minot, ND. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes that donations would be made to cancer research such as the American Cancer Society (at www.cancer.org) or Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (at www.ocrf.org/donate).