Obituary of Nancy Marie Innvaer

Beloved mother and grandmother (Bestemor), Nancy Marie Innvaer, age 86, of Norwood, passed away Monday, January 15th, 2018 in Waconia. Nancy was born November 18, 1931 in Bremnes, Norway, the daughter of Olav and Johanne (Seterstol) Ostensen. She was baptized and confirmed at Bremnes Kirke in Bremnes, Norway. On July 19, 1952, Nancy was united in marriage to Simon Innvaer at Bremnes Kirke. While Simon finished his schooling, Nancy worked for several families as ‘hus hjelp’ (house help). In 1954, Simon and Nancy immigrated to America in search of job opportunities and adventure. They came to New York initially where Nancy went to work sewing in a garment factory, learning English as she went. They soon relocated to Minneapolis where they met many friends also from Norway. Over the next 5 years, Nancy and Simon had 4 children. By then they had moved to Wisconsin and while the children were young, Nancy stayed home with them. While at home they were very concerned that the children would speak English well, and they rarely used Norwegian in the home, when the chance came to move to Sweden temporarily they put the children in regular school with Swedish language classes. After a year they moved back to Wisconsin and though Simon continued to routinely travel for work, Nancy stayed home and keep things going. During this time she worked several years for the JCPenney Company. Once the children were off to college, she began to travel more often with Simon and once they retired she indulged her love of travel, both with Simon and by herself on tours. She loved the adventure and chance to learn about different places and people. Everywhere she went she made lasting friendships. Nancy was very proud of her children and grandchildren. She loved having them around and in later years took extreme delight in the great grandchildren. Her love of children could be seen whenever she was out – she frequently stopped to have a few words with the little ones. Nancy was also a prolific knitter and was well known for her talent in knitting Norwegian sweaters. While she was proud of her American citizenship, which she obtained in 1966, she also loved her Norwegian heritage and wore her bunad with pride. They were members of Sons of Norway in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, Olav Ostensen and Johanne Saeverud, step-father, Henrik Saeverud, and brother, Birgir Ostensen. Nancy is survived by her loving family; children Jan Olav (Judy) Innvaer of Blaine, Liv Kari (Diego) Martinez of Buckeye, AZ, Stein Harald (Lisa Gelvin) Innvaer of Courtland, and Heidi Innvaer of Waconia; grandchildren Elizabeth (Jaron) Aune, Katherine (Sebastien Muffolini) Innvaer, Peter (Chloe) Innvaer, Kari (Edward) Knowlton-Green, Eric (Kati) Knowlton, Danielle & Nicole Martinez, Hannah, Leah and Jan-Henrik Innvaer; great grandchildren Malachi, Karis, Ezekiel, and Oliver Knowlton, Kaden and Bjorn Aune. Also survived by beloved sister Hildegunn (Odd) Saeverud, brother Olav (Wenche) Ostensen, as well as other nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.