Reidun Marie Bringsjord

Reidun Marie (née Sørensen) Bringsjord, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away peacefully on March 22, 2026, at the age of 95. We are deeply grieved by this loss, but live in the confidence that she is with the Lord. Reidun was born on April 14th, 1930, in the small Norwegian town of Kongsberg, the daughter of Nils Tangness and Johanne Ovidia Nikolaisen (née Harm) Sørensen. Her life was defined by a steadfast devotion to family, her faith, and a profound love for the people and places that shaped her. Quiet strength, enduring gratitude, and loyalty to those she loved marked the arc of her long and faithful life—a life she carefully preserved through her writing, leaving her family not just memories, but the stories and life lessons told through her own voice.

Reidun was born at home on Klemsgate 33 in Kongsberg, Norway, on a modest street her family called “Sotliganga,” where six houses stood and neighbors knew one another by name. Her childhood was full—though the house was small, it overflowed with life. She grew up with four siblings—Sverre Magnus, Kjell Oskar, Ivar Mattias, and Astrid Inger. Sverre had a severe case of cerebral palsy, a disability that she learned to meet with love and care—and with her maternal grandmother, Mathilde Harm, who helped watch over the household. From her earliest days, Reidun learned responsibility, compassion, and the quiet power of steady love.

Kongsberg itself left an impressionable mark on her imagination: a Norwegian town flowing with rivers and waterfalls, encircled by plush forests and mountainous landscapes. She was born in a world before cars were common, where children walked to school in every kind of weather, and doors remained unlocked because trust was a given. Skiing and the outdoors were not hobbies but lifeblood; she would strap on her skis right outside her front door and glide through her neighborhood.

Her parents’ example shaped her deeply. Her father, who worked for the Norwegian railway, provided steady stability for the family. Yet he also revealed a gentler side—keeping beehives that produced honey for their table, which he generously shared with neighbors. Her mother built a home that welcomed friends and family, filling weekends and holidays with baked goods, and holding firmly to a simple pride: “Just remember we own our own house.” From these small but deliberate rhythms, Reidun absorbed a philosophy of gratitude, ingenuity, and steadiness.

At the age of ten, Reidun saw her world shift. April 9th, 1940—the day Germany invaded Norway—arrived abruptly, as radio broadcasts instructed families to keep children home. While escaping into the mountains, Reidun received her birthday present, a bar of chocolate, which she made sure to share with her siblings. The war brought rationing, fear, and hardship, yet it also revealed resilience. She ate potatoes in countless forms at the dinner table, raised chickens and a pig each year, carefully preserving what they had while always keeping enough to share generously with others. Wartime taught her endurance without complaint, resourcefulness, and generosity that would guide her throughout her life. Even amid hardship, Reidun never stopped noticing the beauty in the world. Wild berries, spring flowers, singing birds, caring neighbors, and small joys endured. Liberation Day, May 8th, 1945, remained vivid—a joyous day of celebration, Norwegian flags unfurled after five long years of war, streets alive with joy and hope.

Faith was woven into her daily life. Sundays meant rest and church; hymns, youth activities, and belief were constant companions. Her confirmation on May 11, 1947, was remembered less for the ceremony itself than for a quiet act of kindness. A neighbor—one of the few in the area with a car—drove her to the church so she wouldn’t have to walk and risk soiling her beautiful white dress. It was a small gesture, but one that stayed with her for decades.

Reidun cherished education as a gift, something her mother had never received. In January 1950, she left Kongsberg for nursing school in Oslo, eventually becoming a registered nurse. For Reidun, nursing was not simply a profession; it was a calling, an extension of her competence, attentiveness, and service to others. In 1956, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the ship Oslofjord, arriving in Chicago for a one-year traineeship at Norwegian American Hospital. She described the experience as stepping into a new world—bidding family goodbye, marveling at air-conditioned travel, adjusting to unfamiliar heat, different cuisine, and unusual environments.

During her first American Chicago summer, she met Kåre Erling Bringsjord, her future husband. They married on April 13th, 1957, at the Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church in Chicago, and enjoyed 33 years of love and commitment to one another grounded in shared strength and faith.

Reidun’s greatest pride and joy was her family. She built a home where love was steady, practical, and unwavering, raising her three children—Marit, Harald, and Niels—with the same values that had shaped her in Kongsberg: resilience, kindness, a love of learning, and trust in God through every season. She carried a deep gratitude for the chance to watch her children grow into adulthood, and to witness her family expand through new generations. Their laughter, traditions, and shared moments became a continual source of meaning and joy in her life, reflecting the care, faith, and steadiness she had always embodied.

In the 1990s, Reidun’s life was increasingly shaped by the delicate “in-between” role she carried so naturally: her children were grown, their own lives unfolding; grandchildren were beginning to come of age; and yet she remained deeply attentive to the older generation. In December 1993, she traveled back to Norway to visit her mother, in the hospital just shy of her mother’s 101st birthday. Their time together was marked by humor, memory, faith, and the kind of love that expresses itself through presence and attention. Reidun moved through those days with a daughter’s devotion, attentive to every detail, and with the instincts of a mother—aware of her own family back home in America, always translating the wisdom of one generation into care for the next.

Family stories continued to weave the fabric of her life. She cherished anyone who stopped by her Arlington Heights home and visited, recollecting what was said, the moments that made her laugh, the things that worried her, the blessings she acknowledged, and the lessons she hoped her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren would carry forward. Even as her own mother became more frail, Reidun remained alert to the continuity of care: she observed kindness in others, remembered names and connections, and quietly ensured that the links between generations endured.

By the late 2000s, Reidun was the steady heart of a large, busy family—watching life unfold across decades with warmth, honesty, and delight. She cherished traditions that kept everyone connected, from Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings to large family reunions and small, unique family moments. She found joy in witnessing the growth of the next generations, while holding fast to the values that had always mattered most: faith, gratitude, and never taking one another for granted.

Even in the later years of her life, Reidun continued to measure life not by possessions or status, but by love and presence. She returned again and again to gratitude—for her children, for the families that had grown around her, and for every chance to gather while she could. She was a woman who would show up, remember, pray, host, encourage, and quietly make sure the story of her family—its bonds, its laughter, its care—remained whole.

She never saw life as a tally of accomplishments, but as a philosophy: gratitude, frugality without bitterness, deliberate joy, faith in practice, and love expressed in care. Those who knew her felt the steadiness she offered, and the quiet constancy of her presence.

Reidun Marie (née Sørensen) Bringsjord leaves behind a legacy of faith, family, and words. Through her written memoirs, she offered her family and anyone coming after her a gift of history, values, and memory—a map of a life guided by endurance, care, and love. In every sense, she lived as she had always done: loving, remembering, giving.

We love you, mom, bestemor, besta, mormor, oldemor—our family’s true rock and foundation. You will be deeply missed, but the mark you left on our lives will live on forever. May she rest in peace, with the knowledge that we will meet again. Rest, dear Reidun, in God’s gentle peace. Your love and your light will never cease. Gå i fred. Go in peace.

Reidun is survived by her sister, Astrid Inger Diesen, beloved children, Liv Marit (William) Bell, Harald Glenn (Andrea) Bringsjord, and Niels Fredrick (Kendra) Bringsjord; cherished grandchildren, Kirsten (Jonathan) Burdett, Tiffany (Tyler) Sharkey, Jens (Nelson Javier Inga Chafla) Bringsjord, Berit (Nolan Perry-Arnold) Bringsjord, Nils Bringsjord, Alina Bringsjord, Tristan Bringsjord, and Logan Bringsjord; great-grandchildren, William “Liam”, Graham, Sophie, and Adelaide. Reidun was preceded in death by her parents; loving husband of 33 years, Kåre Erling Bringsjord; and brothers, Sverre Magnus Sørensen, Kjell Oskar Sørensen and Ivar Mattias Sørensen.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church 4141 Mormon Coulee Rd. La Crosse WI 54601 where Reidun’s son serves as the pastor, or Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church 1234 N. Arlington Heights Rd. Arlington Heights, IL 60004 where Reidun was a member.

Service details for Reidun Marie Bringsjord will be shared at a later time. A private, family graveside service will take place at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Arlington Heights, IL.