Fern Elizabeth Tronstad

On September 28, 2020, Fern Elizabeth Norris, 94, of Fort Shaw, Montana, passed away after a brief illness while in Benefis Hospital in Great Falls, Montana. Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2020, at O’Connor Funeral Home (2425 8th Avenue North, Great Falls, MT). Family, friends, and neighbors are invited to a memorial service on Saturday, October 10, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. at the Fort Shaw Bible Church.A graveside service will follow at the Sun River Cemetery. The memorial service will be live streamed on the Fort Shaw Bible Church Facebook page. Born to Harold and Elizabeth (Cook) Norris on January 17, 1926, Fern was the oldest of seven children who were raised on the Norris family homestead on the Fairfield Bench in north central Montana. Always a lover of school, Fern attended the small Crowe School in her elementary years, high school in Fairfield, and eventually she went to the University of Montana in Missoula for two years, majoring in Home Economics. On June 7, 1947, she married Richard “Dick” Tronstad and moved to southern Montana for several years where they farmed.After that, they moved to a 160 acre farm near Fort Shaw, Montana, where they raised a family of five children. While there, Fern was active in the community. She was the clerk for the Sun River School District for decades and served as the first kindergarten teacher for the Sun River Valley for some years.She also volunteered in many roles with the Fort Shaw Bible Church, among them being the church pianist for many years. Fern was a woman of deep faith and one of the last things she said was that God had always gone before her, and prepared a way for her. She was comforted by Psalm 23. Fern is survived by four of her five children, sons, Ralph and Russell (Heidi) Tronstad; daughters, Janet and Doris Tronstad; siblings, Alice Nicholoff, Mary (Jack) McLeslie, Gladys Bymaster, and William “Bill” Norris; and many beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Tronstad; daughter, Margaret Enger; parents; and sisters, Wilma Alfson and Grace Lucas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Fort Shaw Bible Church (PO Box 66, Fort Shaw, MT 59443). Since Fern and her late husband, Richard, both loved the music of the church, please designate music/sound in the memo line of your check.