Gloria Diane Walsh

Gloria Diane Walsh, 81, of Crookston, MN, passed away at Our Lady of Peace, in St. Paul, MN, Thursday, June 13, 2024. She was born on April 30th,1943, in Harvey, ND, to Bill and Erna (Hoffman) Dompier. She married her husband, Dewey Walsh, of Grand Forks, ND, on December 5, 1965, at the Methodist church in Harvey, ND.

 Gloria graduated from Harvey High School in 1961. She went on to receive her nursing degree in 1964, from St. Francis School of Nursing, in Minot, ND. Her first nursing job was as a camp nurse at the YMCA Triangle Y Camp, in Garrison, ND, where she met Dewey, who was the waterfront director. Before they were married, Gloria took another nursing job in Rugby, ND, while Dewey took a teaching job in Granville, ND. After they were married, they moved to Grand Forks, ND and later Crookston, MN where they started a family and lived for the rest of their years.

 Gloria was first a homemaker, busy caring for her family. She was also interested in finance, politics, health, gardening, and cooking, enjoying good conversations on any of these topics. She was one to carry concern for family, neighbors, and friends, wanting everyone to be fed, knowledgeable, and safe. She was known to take what she learned and researched into action, first as a nurse, then a census taker, and for many years as an administrative assistant to her husband’s company. Some might not know that she was a successful self-taught equities trader and a talented piano player, who occasionally played for various church groups, or simply played in between daily chores. 

 Her love of healthy food inspired her to learn new things, such as grinding wheat berries to make bread, canning and making jelly. The whole family has fond memories of breakfasts of buttery toast and chokecherry jelly, that she and Dewey would forage for alongside country roads. She continued to learn the art of cooking, making her own yogurt, sauerkraut, and dressings of all kinds. She loved to visit organic grocery stores, farmers markets, and farms where she gathered organic chickens, eggs, and milk and enjoyed meeting interesting and knowledgeable people along the way. She loved to be outside, whether chipping ice with her shovel, tending to a yard-size organic garden, or taking a walk. She was fortunate to live among neighbors who she admired and loved. 

 She took an active interest in all her grandchildren, keeping up with them all and attending concerts, sports, or watching their various activities online. She loved the presence of her family, and they were all present, gathered around her until the end. She was independent and lived by her strong principles and beliefs. Most important to her was her faith in God, which was deep, prayerful, and enduring.

Gloria will be lovingly missed by her children and their spouses, Chris Ann and Todd Brekhus (Prior Lake, MN) and Steve and Kim Walsh (Kildeer, IL), and 7 grandchildren and their spouses, Ian and Dakotah Brekhus (Prior Lake, MN), Emma and Kaleb Smith (Hopkins, MN), Lars Brekhus, Ava Brekhus, McKenna Walsh, Karlee Walsh, and Brody Walsh. She is survived by her sister, Wanda and her husband Gary Bunce (Winona, MN) and in-laws, Dick Leintz (Harvey, ND), Duane and Virginia Walsh (Milwaukee, WI), Carol Walsh (Parma, ID), nieces and nephews, neighbors and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, her older sister, Fern Leintz, and her husband of 57 years, Dewey Walsh.