Evelyn Mae Kjos passed away the early morning hours of Wednesday, August 27, 2014 with her family by her side at Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville. She was 86 years old. The Celebration of Life Service is Friday, August 29, 2014 at 2:00 PM with visitation from 12:00 Noon – 2:00 PM at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, Prior Lake. Evelyn will be laid to rest next to her husband at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
It was a cold winter day in Granite Falls on December 18, 1927 when Fred and Mabel (Stewart) Doose celebrated the birth of their beautiful baby girl, Evelyn Mae. She was the middle child and loved growing up with her older brother Darold and younger sister Margery. The Doose family lived on a farm where they raised cows and chickens. They also farmed the land growing soybeans and corn. Evelyn helped out with the daily chores and developed a strong work ethic that served her well the rest of her life.
At the age of 16 Evelyn graduated from high school as the valedictorian of her class. She then moved down to the twin cities to attend Minneapolis Business College with her cousin Dorothy. Evelyn enjoyed the cities, but moved back to the Granite Falls area after completing her program. She got her first job working for Clarkfield Bank.
As a young woman, Evelyn enjoyed spending time with her friends. One evening she and her friends met a group of naval officers. One of those officers was Roy Kjos, the love of Evelyn’s life. She and Roy were married on July 2, 1949 at an outdoor ceremony at the Doose family farm. They were blessed with three wonderful children, Rob, Denise and Lori.
Evelyn and Roy took their family camping, fishing and competed in horse shows. Evelyn was secretary of the Orchard Rangers Saddle Club, and she enjoyed organizing the registration booth for the weekend horse shows. Throughout her life, Evelyn did a great job balancing her family and her career. Evelyn worked full time for 38+ years as the City Clerk for the growing city of Burnsville. After retirement she did consulting work in records management for the cities of Lakeville, Savage and the Apple Valley Fire Department.
She was also very active at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church. She helped with records management and formed the Heritage Committee which is currently planning the church’s 50th anniversary celebration scheduled in 2015.
Evelyn loved gardening, playing cards, attending book club and completing crossword puzzles (in ink). She enjoyed traveling with her husband. They made it to Alaska and took yearly trips to visit Rob and his family in Montana. Roy and Evelyn did a lot of entertaining together. Roy was an avid hunter, and Evelyn was an excellent chef. She would prepare the wild game beautifully.
In 2009, Evelyn moved to Glendale Place in Savage. She loved it there and made many wonderful friends. She never missed Monday night BINGO or morning coffee with the ladies. Evelyn was blessed with the gift of being able to enjoy life to the fullest. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend to many.
Evelyn will be deeply missed and remembered always by her children, Robert “Rob” (Rita) Kjos, Denise (Bill Van Cleve) Schmidt, Lori (Steve) Hindt; grandchildren, Laurel (Shawn) Kultgen, Beth (Chris) Wallace, Brooke (Micah) Dodge, Naomi Kjos, Rosalyn (Doug) Chromy, Robert “Bobby” (Nicole) Schmidt, Nicholas Hindt, Tracy Hindt; great-grandchildren, Joscelyn, Alex, Linnea, Caden, Kylee, Cale, Madison, Sydney, Brookelynn and Aria; brother, Darold (Gladys) Doose; other loving relatives and many friends. There to greet Evelyn in Heaven is her husband of 53 years, Roy Kjos; parents; sister, Margery Cunningham.
Pall bearers for Evelyn are Robert Schmidt, Doug Chromy, Caden Chromy, Cale Chromy, Steve Hindt, Nicholas Hindt and Tracy Hindt.
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Maria Belden
I am going to miss Evelyn. She was a joy. I am sorry for your loss.
Jill Huss
Oh no, very sad, she was an intelligent, sensible and charming lady. My heartfelt sorrow to all of you kids and the other family.
Jim and Debra Bullard
So sorry to hear of the passing of Evelyn. She will be missed by many. Her bubbly personality and bright smile will always be a part of our memories of her. I hope all the family and especially the grandkids are coping with her sudden passing “ok”. God speed and take care. Much Love, Jim and Debra
She was a dear friend of the Bullard family.
Robin Ruben (Mark Costello's wife)
My deepest sympathy to your entire family at this sad time. Evelyn meant the world to my mother-in-law Virginia, and personally, Mark and I are so glad we knew Evelyn for so many years. May God shed his blessings on you all. With love, Robin Ruben
Tom and Kathy Kjos
Sorry to hear that our Aunt Evelyn has passed. Our deepest condolences goes out to the entire family. Tom Brokaw said it best in his book, THE GREATEST GENERATION. Evelyn was certainly the Greatest in our book!!! She touched the lives of so many, she will be remembered by all.
Chris and Doug Berg
Sorry to hear about Evelyn’s passing. She was a very nice person, and so fun to be around.
Kathy Daniels
My deepest sympathy goes out to Evelyn’s family. I met Evelyn at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church and had the opportunity to work with her on our archive system. Evelyn was a joy and will be missed.
Pat Cates
Denise and all of Evelyn’s family,
Our deepest sympathy to you all on the loss of dear Evelyn. We will miss her words of counsel and involvement in the care of our Veterans and the programs of the VFW Auxiliary. We will miss her presence with us.
Paul Kalmoe
Denise, I am so sorry for your loss. Audrey will miss her very good friend. Paul Kalmoe
Maria Lambert
So sorry to hear of Evelyn’s passing. I will miss her ever present smile and cheery disposition. Denise, my prayers will be with you and all your family during this difficult time. We both loved our mothers so very much. Evelyn touched so many lives through the years and she will be fondly remembered by all.
Cheryl Geddes Beech
I have always adored Mrs. Kjos’ almost constant smile and laughter. My mother,Marian holds your Mother in the highest regard. She considers ‘Evie’ her best friend and will miss her deeply. My prayers are with the Kjos family.
Emily Schroeder Orvik
I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Mrs. Kjos when she came to the Shepherd of the Lake office to work on the records. She was so tremendously cheerful, very detail-oriented about the records and always made me smile. Please accept my sincere sympathies for your family’s loss.
Jeff Jerde
I am so lucky to have gotten to know Evelyn during the last couple of years. She was such a spark for the Burnsville Historical Society, and of course, her “collection” of documents and mementos forms the core of our archives. It was scarcely a year ago that we created our precious video interview with Evelyn. She laughed and giggled — and the next day came to my office to say “I may have said too much; I don’t want to hurt any feelings.” She will never be far from our thoughts.
Rand Kjos
I was saddened to receive the call from Denise of Evelyn’s passing. While I didn’t see her much we did talk on a couple of occasions in recent years. She was always so interested in hearing from me about the Kjos family, and always was welcomming; and was a wonderful “reunion host”! I’m very grateful for knowing her and calling her “family”. I will hold the memory of Evelyn and Roy in my heart, and my thoughts are with her family. Namaste. Rand Kjos
phil leibfried
I was sadden to find out that Evelyn has passed away. I first met Roy and Evelyn over 50 years ago through the Orchard Rangers saddle club. My memories of Evelyn was the smile on her face and she was such a cheerful lady. I will always remember the good times our family had with Evelyn and Roy. Please accept my deepest sympathy for your family’s loss.
Phil