Mae Well

Mae. M. Well, 98, Bismarck, died Wednesday, December 16, 2009, at St. Alexius Hospital, Bismarck. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 am Monday at Charity Lutheran Church, Bismarck, with Rev. Bob Nordvall officiating. Services will also be held at 2:30 pm MT Monday at Bethesda Lutheran Church, 15 miles south of Leith, ND. Burial will be held in Bethesda Cemetery. Mae was the first born child of Nels and Hanna Stundhaugen Roe born on March 30, 1911, in a claimshack on the prairie in then Morton County, ND. Born to this union also were Edward, Norman, Helma and Inga. Mae’s mother, Hanna, succumbed to the flu in 1 918. Mae’s father, Nels then married Johanna Olson and their son, Nels Jr. was born to this union. Mae attended grades one through eight at Parks School, a mile walk from the farmstead. One of the first subjects to be learned was the English language as the family was Norwegian. Mae met Harvey Well when he was using a steam tractor plow to break-sod and she was using horses and mower to cut hay nearby; they were married on January 7, 1935. Harvey and Mae farmed until moving to California in the 1960s. She cooked in several cafes in California. Mae returned to Bismarck, ND, in 1996, after Harvey’s death in 1994. She fared well in apartment living being very active with family, friends, and church. She continued her love of cooking, inviting all to stay for a meal. You could always anticipate her camera being ready for a picture to put in one of her hundreds of albums. Mae is survived by her children, Vivian Grotte, Harvey L. Well, Vernon Well and Donna Bentz; her sister, Helma Lein; her sisters-in-law, Lorraine Roe, Dorothy Roe, and Norma Tuttle; and her brothers-in-law, Orin and Kenneth Well. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Paul, Emily, Marce, Kent, Ben, Brandon, Doug, Darcy, Mark, Stacy, Tammy, Orin Lee, Bradley, Kim, Nan, and Stacia and 11 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harvey; her infant daughters, Deborah and Hazel; her parents and stepmother; her brothers, Edward, Norman and Nels Jr; her sister, Inga and her stepsiblings, Oscar, Hank and Ella.

Mae Well

March 31, 1911 - December 16, 2009