Frances Henrikson Soder

Frances Henrikson was the 7th of 9 siblings born to Swedish emigrants Carl and Katrin Henrikson on December 11, 1916.

Carl and Katrin had come to America in 1905 with two children, Johan (b. 1903) and Edit (b. 1905), added two more to their clan, Olga (b. 1907) and Frank (b. 1909), in Worcester (pronounce “Wooster”), Massachusetts where Carl worked in an emery wheel factory. Disgusted by the dirty air and conditions in the newly industrialized Worcester they moved west to Chico, California in 1909. Life was good to the family in California where Carl worked for the Diamond Match Company. Fran, who wasn't yet born when they lived in Chico, often wondered how different things would have been had the family stayed in California.

A Real Estate Broker approached Carl in Chico telling him about “God's Country” up North in Washington State and it wasn't long before the family packed their belongings and moved to Venersborg, their final destination in the new land. (The literal translation of the Swedish name “Venersborg” is “Village of Friends.”)

A temporary shelter served the family for 5 years between 1911 and 1916 where two more children were born; Helen (b. 1912) and Henry (b. 1914). Eventually the permanent farm house was finished with all the conveniences of … well, no indoor plumbing or electricity … but cozy and new none the less... and

Frances was the first child to arrive on the scene in that new house. This was her mark of distinction among her siblings. When you're one of 9 you find your mark!

Children arrived roughly every other year in the Henrikson family. Fran's younger siblings were Emma, born in 1920 and Roy in 1922.

In 1918 the Influenza outbreak hit the country and the entire family fell ill. Frances, only 2 at the time, had whooping cough so bad that she would turn blue from not breathing between coughing spells. Her parents thought this illness would take her life. When she miraculously recovered the family counted their blessings and Fran was left with a very good immune system after that. She didn't catch viruses that went around and if she did they were short lived.

Her childhood years were filled with happy memories, many of which she wrote about extensively in her book, “Karl and Katrin” which shared the colorful story of their lives. She spoke Swedish with her parents and English with her older brothers and sisters who learned it at school.

One of the highlights of her young life came when she was able to accompany her sister Olga (she had changed her name to Wanda) for a year of school in Ozette, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula. Wanda had been contracted to teach elementary school in a one room school house there and it was determined by the family that Fran would benefit from a year away with big sister Wanda. Fran was essentially Wanda's teaching assistant and the memories she held from that experience were some of her most cherished. She recalled getting a letter from an Ozette boy, long after she had gone back to Venersborg. He expressed how he missed her terribly and longed to see her again. She remembered very little about him, having rarely spoken to him. She concluded that this came with the territory when you were a teacher's assistant.

At the tender age of 11 Fran experienced the deep sorrow of losing her beloved older sister, Edit. Edit had married Arthur Moberg and became pregnant with their first child. She died in childbirth, along with their baby in 1927 at the age of only 22. The family had not recovered from this loss when the news of Wanda's death reached them. She had recently married also and was away in Ozette teaching. She slipped into a diabetic coma and died before it was recognized that she had developed diabetes. She was only 24. That same year, 1932, after young Frank (age 23) had embarked on a journey to Sweden it was eventually learned that he was the victim of foul play.

Frances felt the immense grief from these losses, and also witnessed the unbearable weight her parents bore, losing their children. She had lost 3 siblings before finishing high school. This could have made life unbearable, and at the least could have stymied her progress in school. But she remembered her father's words and in his eulogy of 1973 she wrote “ His faith was not shaken, these acts were ordained by God. He went on reading his Bible. In an effort to lessen our pain he would say to the rest of us, 'We must trust in God.' ”

During her childhood she knew her father's word was law. Any behavior that reflected willfulness on the part of the children was not tolerated. Harmony could not be achieved if each member of the family was bent on having his or her own way.

After graduation from Battleground High School in 1934 she moved to Astoria to work for a prominent family as a nanny, housekeeper and cook. During this time she also had the opportunity to work in the women's clothing store owned by the family. One day an Astoria “Madam” brought in one of her new girls to outfit her in appropriate garb. It was an eye opener for Fran to see the owner bring out numerous outfits from the back for these two shoppers, fancy outfits she had never seen. The Madam spent a mint and the whole experience was quite a shock for Fran, a country girl - not yet 19!

In 1935 she moved to Portland where she worked for the Hoyt family. There she served as a nanny, cook and housekeeper as well, but heard from other gals her age that work at the hospital was much easier, and also paid better. So in 1936 she took a job at Good Samaritan Hospital in Northwest Portland preparing food in the Diabetic Ward. Her younger sister Emma had been diagnosed with Diabetes only 3 years earlier and Fran had some experience with the disease. She lived in a women's boarding house within walking distance of the hospital.

Enter Carl Soder – a dapper young man with ambition and virtue, not to mention, he could play the accordion AND he spoke Swedish! She recalled her parents highly approving of him and she was falling head over heels for this Finnish Swede (his parents left the old country to settle in Duluth, Minnesota around the same time as her parents). He also had a car (albeit borrowed!) and would take her to dances at the Norse Hall. This romance was destined for marriage. He proposed on December 2, 1936 and they were married September 3rd, 1937. The ceremony was held at the family farm in Venersborg and conducted in Swedish. It was a happy day for everyone.

Marriage was pure bliss as Fran doted on Carl and his world revolved around her. They embarked on building their home in southwest Portland, not technically within the city boundary at that time. It was a country home on a gravel road amidst woodlands and dairies. Carl, with the help of friends and relatives built their home for a sum total of $3,600.00 and Fran decorated and gardened to her heart's content.

Not one to sit idle, Fran took a class in massage therapy. It took a little over six months but by January 31, 1941 she took her final exam and was ready to go into business. This came to a screeching halt when Carl decided he could not tolerate Fran giving massage to anyone! She was never able to “hang out her shingle” as she would say.

When the war began Fran was trained as a draftswoman to work at Commercial Iron where merchant ships were being converted to aircraft carriers. She remembered sitting next to a fellow who always whistled a pleasant tune. This was where she honed her whistling skills.

After 8 years of doting on each other, their first child, son Lee was born, November 18, 1946. Lee made the family complete. A bouncing baby boy who amazed and astounded them with every move. 8 years to the day after Lee's birth, Kathi joined them. She was nick named “The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane” after a popular song by that name at that time. The new family of 4 was nearly driven insane by her constant and intense crying. It wasn't clear until she was about 6 months old that she was allergic to Mother's milk and also cow's milk. Lord have mercy.

With the allergy discovered life became more normal, and Fran and Carl heaved a sigh of relief. The decision to stop after two children, however, was etched in their collective subconscious.

Fran worked outside the home most of her married life. She worked at Oregon Health Sciences University, Market Research Corporation, and the United States Post Office, where she worked nights and retired in 1978 at the age of 62. It wasn't known at the time, but her husband Carl suffered from heart disease and she would have only four years with him after her retirement as he passed away in 1982.

Fran's abundance of extra curricular activities are what made her unique:

Member of a Women's City Club, she gave speeches on current topics of the day (circa 1937,38,39)

She became a Den Mother for Cub Scouts years before Lee became a Cub Scout in order to practice being a Den Mother

She became a Blue Bird leader for the Camp Fire organization when Kathi was in second grade.

She was a Camp Fire Camp Counselor

Active in PTA, she served in several positions

She painted murals at school, church and at home

She painted murals in both Lee and Kathi's bedrooms as kids, not just once - she would paint over the old ones to make them more current as the kids grew.

She was a non-stop seamstress sewing dresses for herself and Kathi, ballet costumes, Halloween costumes and various items for the household like curtains, valances, place mats, napkins, table cloths and the like.

She traveled with her church group in later years to volunteer

Learned to make pine needle baskets in her 70's and taught classes for years. She was still teaching classes into her 90's

Completed a monster braided wool rug (over 25 feet in diameter) which took her from 1958 until approximately 1966 to finish.

An avid gardener, she was always digging, planting and creating garden spaces where there was nothing. For several years what we called “the woods” (a 100 ' by 100 ' lot behind the house) would bloom en mass with Forget Me Nots, Johnny Jump Ups and Violets... the wild Trillium, many varieties of ferns and Japanese Maple were free to dominate the wooded landscape too.

She was the “Meteorite Lady” of West Linn from 2004 to 2007, becoming a huge proponent of the story of the Meteorite and lobbying for additional interpretive information to be made available to the citizens of West Linn (with the help of many, many others, Fields Bridge Park now displays three kiosks telling the story of the Meteorite and its discoverer, Ellis Hughes.)

She went gliding (Her grandson David towing the glider) at 94!

She went flying with grandson David on many occasions in her 80's and 90's. Also, when David would fly over the house in West Linn he would call his Grandma to come out and wave to him. She would wave, and he would tip his wings to let her know that he saw her.

And last but not least, she published her family story “Karl and Katrin” at age 94! This was actually accumulated work from the 1950's on. She always knew she wanted to tell the story of her parents' immigration to the new land.

On top of it all, she made us laugh up until the very end. The Sunday prior to her passing she informed her son, age 67, that her husband Carl may not have been his father. Everyone was nearly in tears as we knew it was another prank. She cherished her family; children, grand children, great grand children, cousins, nephews and all. Every minute she spent with them gave her joy.

She gave as much as one person could possibly give to life. She witnessed nearly a century of living and was proof that we can improve with age.

It has been our blessing to know Fran and countless beautiful memories will live on in our hearts forever.