Rachel Rustad

Rachel Dorothy Rustad died on March 21, 2017 in Fargo, ND. She was born January 5, 1933, in Hawley, MN to Jennie and Casper Stensland. She was a member of the Lysne Church and graduated from Hawley High School in 1950. After spending some time in Long Beach, CA, she married Ken Rustad in Hawley in 1954 and moved to Hallock, MN, where Ken was teaching high school. While in Hallock, she worked in the legal office of Lyman Brink. In 1955 they moved to Minneapolis where she got a start on her bachelors degree at the University of Minnesota and where son Jim 1960 and daughter Jenny 1965 were born. There she spent time with her children and neighbors on Byrd and Valders Avenue, sewing costumes for the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, and, later, taking in long summers at the cabin on Stark Lake, north of Aitkin, MN. She then went back to school to pursue a career in geriatrics, getting a degree from Minnesota State University and eventually serving as chief administrator for the historic Stevens Square long-term care facility, which had started in 1881 as the Home for Children and Aged Women. She was much loved as a leader and administrator by both residents and staff, pioneering many new directions in wellness philosophy and personnel management in long-term care operations. After retirement, she moved to Howard Lake, MN where she enjoyed painting, quilting, visits from her grandchildren, and hanging out with long-time soul mate Birdie Johnson. During her last year she moved to Fargo, ND where her favorite activity was quietly observing her great grandson Declan. Her bold pragmatism, artistic sense of order, love of new ideas, and appreciation for individuality defined her interactions with the world and made it a better place for all who knew her. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Eldon, and sister Myrtle. She is survived by Ken; children Jim and Jenny; daughter-in-law Katie; grandchildren Amanda Jason, David Sara, Robert, and Alex; and great grandsons Declan and Jared.