Anna L. Stark

Anna Stark was born Anna Linnea Monson to Hjalmar Gustav and Selma Lydia (Nyholm) Monson in Duluth on May 20, 1914. She became the big sister to four brothers, two of whom, Carl Waldemar and John Edwin, died in childhood. As the oldest sibling and only daughter, she often talked about taking care of “her boys,” the youngest of whom, David, survives her.

Beginning in her school years and continuing as long as her failing eyesight allowed, she was an avid reader, always wanting to learn more and to satisfy a thirst, as she so frequently put it, to know “what’s going on in the world.” She attended Denfeld High School and graduated from Duluth Central High School, and graduated from Duluth Business University before taking a position at the St. Louis County Historical Society.

In June 1939 she married John Aaron Stark of Midway Township. They have two children, Charlotte Joan (Samuel) Chell, now of Kenosha, WI, and John Philip Stark of Northfield, MN. Her husband John died in 1987.

Ann, as she was then known, and John lived first in Cloquet, MN, then briefly in Little Falls, MN; both towns offered her employment as a librarian, a job that, given her interest in books and knowledge, was a natural fit. Shortly after the family moved to Duluth in 1958, Ann became a secretary in the Social Science Division at UMD, retiring in 1976. She and her husband were active members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, where they particularly enjoyed singing in the choir. When she was not attending to household and family business or reading, she enjoyed many handiwork projects like knitting and crocheting, which she always looked forward to sharing with her extended family members.

Anna died peacefully on November 11, 2011 at the age of 97 in her home at Ecumen Lakeshore, with her family around her. Besides her children, Anna is survived by two grandchildren, Melissa Jane (Neal) Williams of Davis, CA, and Jeremy Jonathan (Sara) Chell of Madison, WI, and four great-grandchildren, Linnea and Lewis Williams and Samantha and Sonja Chell. She is also survived by her brother, David Leroy (Marguerite) Monson, of Minneapolis, four nephews and seven nieces. Her brother Helmer Gustav predeceased her in 2002. Her niece Evelyn Anderson of Duluth has been her special friend and support, a steady voice of assurance and comfort to one who, despite failing physical faculties, retained the active, inquiring mind of her formative years.

Visitation from 1:00 pm until the 2:00 pm funeral service Saturday, November 19th at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 1325 N. 45th Ave. East and Colorado St. Burial will be in the Augustana Lutheran Church Cemetery on Midway Road. Please leave a memory of Anna or words of support for the family at www.bellbrothersfuneralhome.com Arrangements by the Bell Brothers Funeral Home.