Bernice Anne Ostlund Valleen, Centuria, died Nov. 24, 2001. She was 64
years old.

Bernice was born on the family farm in Mud Lake, Marshall County, Minn.,
Oct. 5, 1937. She was the seventh of 11 children. In 1938, when Mud Lake
was converted into a wildlife reservation, the family moved to the Grygla,
Minn., area. When Bernice was 8 years old, she moved to Viking, Minn., to
live with her aunts and uncles.

After Bernice graduated from Newfolden High School in 1956, she went to
work for Bell Telephone in Thief River Falls, Minn., as a telephone operator.
When Bell Telephone automated in 1957, Bernice moved to Minneapolis,
Minn., where she went to work for Munsingwear Inc. It was there that she
met and married Kermit Valleen. Three daughters were born to this union:
VirJene, Rochelle and Fayette.

In 1961 Bernice moved with her family to Camrose, Alberta, Canada, where
her husband had taken a teaching position. In 1965 Bernice and her family
moved to St. Croix Falls where she lived until 1982. In 1982 she moved to her
current home on Loveless Lake near Centuria. While living in St. Croix Falls,
Bernice worked at various sewing factories until 1971 when she went to
work at the Good Samaritan Home. She worked there until she injured her
back in 1981.

After it was determined that she was unable to continue working as a
nursing assistant, Bernice enrolled at WITC and later transferred to the
Lakewood Community College Human Services program. From 1985 until
her death, Bernice worked at various group homes for the developmentally
disabled/mentally ill in the St. Paul, Minn., area. She also worked as a home
health aid for the elderly.

Bernice was proceeded in death by her mother and father, John and Anne
Ostlund; aunts Emma and Ida Ostlund; uncles Issac and Peter Ostlund;
brothers Joseph, Wilfred, Phillip and Rodney; sister Ione; daughter Fayette.

She is survived by her husband, Kermit Valleen; daughters VirJene Valleen
and her special friend, Daniel Gartner, Rochelle (Rory) Waller; brothers
Kenneth, Earl, Donald and Larry Ostlund; sister Loraine (Gerald) Cullerton;
grandsons Jason Valleen and Jordan Waller; granddaughters Christina and
Emma Waller; step-granddaughter Delaine Waller and
step-great-granddaughters Mariah and McKensie Waller; many nieces and
nephews.

Visitation will be held at the Edling Funeral Home in St. Croix Falls on
Wednesday, Nov. 28, from 5 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held Thursday,
Nov. 29, at 1 p.m., at the Faith Lutheran Church, Balsam Lake. Interment will
be at Hillside Cemetery in Center City, Minn.

The Edling Funeral Home, St. Croix Falls, assisted the family with
arrangements.