Margaret T. Berntsen

I believe that God created special wonders in nature, so we can remember those who have gone to her great paradise in the sky. Those wonders will keep Mom/Margaret in our hearts and in our minds. When you feel the warm breeze blow, think of it as Mom sending you a kiss. When you see the stars in the sky twinkling so bright, think of it as Mom smiling down knowing how proud she was of her family.

I met Margaret/Mom when we moved next door to her and dad Knut on Euclid Street, when I was 3 years old. She was married to Knut, one of my favorite people in the world, for 40 years before he passed. Roy and I became fast friends and played together all of our lives.

Margaret was born on November 30, 1921, and came to the United States when she was 6 years old, with her mother Inga and her sister Birgit (her brother Walter was born in the USA). Her father Henry was so happy to have his family back together again in the USA. She went to school in Brooklyn. She went to the many dance places and met her husband to be Knut Berntsen at one of these dances. They married a short time after in April 1950, and enjoyed a 10-month honeymoon in Norway visiting family. They had their son Roy in 1953 in Brooklyn, then the family moved to Valley Stream in 1956.

Mom introduced me to her family and I became close to Grandma Inga in my early years. Grandma Inga would come often from Brooklyn to Valley Stream and when Mom was still at work Grandma Inga would come to Gladys’s home for coffee until she came home from work. It was a common event in our house. Living next door, she was good friends with my Mother Gladys. When my sisters were born and Gladys had to bring Leigh to the doctor Mom watched Lauren and even taught her how to drink out of a cup.

Margaret became a Leader for Roy’s 4-H group. She taught them many things but most of the boys remember when they made a project out of wood and she would make you sand until it was smooth. She would run a stocking across it and if it snagged she would say “do more sanding.” As Roy grew up he played football in high school and she would drive many of us to the away games. She did not understand the game but loved to cheer the Eagles (the team from Central High School) when everyone else did. Going home she would follow the bus back and we would wait for Roy to come out of the locker room. During this time, she became very involved in Garborg Lodge, Sons of Norway. She served in many different officer positions and was president of the lodge for several years. She made wonderful friends and would gather for events, parties, parades, and anniversaries, all to come back to her home for that final nightcap in the wee hours of the morning.

I had dinner at Mom’s house many Sundays. I remember calling her Mom from the time I was a teenager. When Roy and I married, I could finally call her mom for real. Then came her grandchildren. She was so devoted to Kristin, Roy Jr. and Kathi from the time they were born until the time I needed to write this remembrance. The kids visited often and we all took mom (or grandma) everywhere we went. Mom loved to cook for the 5 of us on Sundays, keeping us close. The grandkids all lived with her, at one time or another. Kathi for evenings or weekends, Kristin when she moved from Oceanside with Chuck and Krystal (Andrew was born when they were living in Margaret’s home). Then Roy Jr. for the past 13 years where she took care of him but mostly he took care of her.

Margaret had a wonderful extended family. Her sister Birgit, brother Walter and sister-in-law Marci. She was very close to her nieces: Jane, Delta, and Omega, nephews: George and Alpha. Plus, the numerous great nieces and nephews. In recent years she had become very close to her cousin Harald and his wife Live. They would come from Norway every year for her birthday, plus each time they traveled back home after sailing for months. They would always stop prior and after their sailing around the world. For many years they would stay at Mom’s home so he could take care of her for the time the spent together. Most recently they came to the nursing home for her 103rd birthday and would talk about many of the old people he knew, or heard of, from Sandøya, Norway where mom was born. She was very talkative that evening.

We did not knew that morning,

God was calling Margaret’s name,

In life we loved her dearly,

In death we’ll do the same.

Margaret left us wonderful memories,

Her love will be our guide,

And though we cannot see her,

She is forever at our side.

Our hearts may now be broken,

And nothing seems the same,

But God will call us one by one,

And bring us together again.

All of us know Mom could be stubborn, but I remember Mom as a baker, a wonderful cook, a creative and talented, knowledgeable lady. I learned how to cook and bake with her.

Think of her often. How she was ready to help those in need. How she opened her home to friends. How she touched the lives of those she met. And how much she loved and was dedicated to her husband Knut, her son Roy, me, her grandchildren: Kristin, Roy Jr., and Kathi, her grandsons: Chuck and Tom, her great grandchildren: Krystal and Andrew, her new great-grandson Nick, and great-granddaughter Erica. She loved you all.

Time has a way to heal our hearts and as we talk about those precious times we will remember her with a smile and how Margaret touched our own lives.

So give yourself that special gift of remembrance of Mom, Tante Margaret, Grandma, or Mormor. Mom I hope you enjoy your everlasting peace with our lord. I love you and miss you already.