Joyce Fjerkenstad

Joyce Fjerkenstad passed away peacefully on April 12, 2026, at the Johnson Memorial Care Center in Dawson, MN at the age of 99.

Celebration of life will be held on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM at Grace Lutheran Church in Dawson with Rev. Kendall Stelter officiating. Burial will take place at a later date.

Visitation will be for one hour before the service at the church.

Joyce Loraine (Larson) Fjerkenstad was born April 4,1927 in Raymond Township, SD to Joseph Clarence and Ann (Moree) Larson. She graduated from Clarkfield High School. After graduating, Joyce moved to Minneapolis to start her career. She moved back home after the death of her mother, Ann, to help raise her younger siblings. After Ann’s passing, Joe eventually remarried to Erma Carter, a beloved stepmother.

Joyce was united in marriage to Ernest Fjerkenstad at Hazel Run Parsonage on November 6, 1948. They made their home near Boyd, MN, where the couple raised six children and farmed. After their first farm, the family moved to Eugene, OR for a few years. The couple then returned to Boyd, MN to farm again. After retiring from farming, Ernest and Joyce enjoyed many winters in Desert Hot Springs, CA, and eventually moved to Montevideo, MN. When Ernest passed in 2001, Joyce moved to Dawson, MN to be closer to her friends and family.

Throughout the years, Joyce was actively involved in the Boyd Legion Auxiliary, taught Sunday School at Boyd Trinity Church, participated in Ladies Aid, was involved in Bible Study and Circle at Grace Lutheran Church in Dawson. She also dedicated much of her time to the Relay for Life in Dawson. Joyce enjoyed hosting her friends and family for holidays and special events, cooking and baking, and spending time with her grandchildren at the farm. Her Larson siblings and children were very close knit. Joyce loved reading and was a frequent visitor to the Montevideo and Dawson libraries. She and Ernest would often go on trips, everywhere from Norway and Oregon to California and the Caribbean. Joyce was able to enjoy good health and independence well into her nineties.

She is survived by children: Ronald Fjerkenstad of Canby, MN, Linda (Tom) Nelson of Louisburg, MN, Nancy (Steve Lang) Fjerkenstad of Sioux Falls, SD, Sandra (Chris) Fjerkenstad-Budel of St. Paul, MN, Jill (John) Storlien of Dawson, MN, and Lori Fjerkenstad overseas; 8 grandchildren; and numerous great grandchildren; sisters: Arlyss Johnson in Granite Falls, MN and Janis Harmon in Concord, CA; sisters-in-law: Faye Lou and Doris Larson of Montevideo, MN; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her husband Ernest Clayton Fjerkenstad, siblings Gene Larson, Geraldine (Obert) Enstad, and Gary Larson.