Eunice Strand

Strand, Eunice Lien MADISON - Eunice Lien Strand passed away on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007, at the Hebron Oaks section of Oakwood Village West. She had just celebrated her 100th birthday on Sunday, July 30, 2006. She was the second of five daughters born to Louise and Oscar Lien. She learned to play the piano at an early age and became a very accomplished pianist and choir director. Following graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Music, she taught high school music at Portage, Elroy and Wittenberg, Wis. Eunice was married to Dr. Clarence M. Strand in 1939 and they made their home in Westby. It was here that they raised two sons and a daughter. Eunice became the choir director at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Westby. In the middle 1950s, Dr. Strand completed a pathology residency at Northwestern University in Chicago. The family then settled in Dubuque, Iowa. Eunice became the choir director at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Dubuque. At this point, Eunice and her husband became very active in the American Field Service Program. They hosted, at first, a German boy for a year and then an African girl for a year. Eunice and her family moved to Minneapolis, Minn. in 1967. She and her husband became very involved in volunteer work with the Hennepin County Juvenile Court system. Following her husbands death in 1986, Eunice moved to Madison, to be close to her four sisters. She soon became well acquainted with Oakwood Village, first as a choir director and then as a full time resident. Eunice gave generously of her time and musical talent. In Minneapolis, she received the Good Neighbor Award from WCCO radio in 1973. In 1983, she received a certificate of appreciation from the Crystal Care Center for her years of volunteer work. In 1988, she received a certificate of appreciation from the Madison West Side Coalition and in 1992, a certificate of recognition for her commitment as an Elder Care volunteer. Eunice was preceded in death by her parents, Oscar and Louise Lien; by her sisters, Myrtle Fosmark and Evelyn Kivela; and by her husband, Dr. Clarence Strand. She is survived by her sisters, Valborg Halverson and Frances Anderson of Madison; by her children, Melford Strand of Denver, Colo., Daniel Strand of Scottsdale, Ariz. and Jane Polachek of Scottsdale, Ariz.; nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, March 1, 2007, at 11 a.m. at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL HOME, 5203 Monona Drive. Interment will follow at Roselawn Memorial Park. A visitation will be held on Thursday from 10 a.m. until the time of services at the funeral home.