Bertha Tedsen, was born February 23, 1927 to Clarence and Lily Van Norman in Oakdale, Calif. She had a sister Betty and two brothers Clarence and Hiram. They lived on a 140-acre horticulture ranch which produced fruit, nuts and crops. They were a close family, interacting with many aunts, uncles and cousins. One of her favorite places to go was Santa Cruz beach and boardwalk where they stayed with relatives. She was involved with the Methodist youth group and enjoyed skiing at Dodge Ridge and Tahoe. On semester break she and her sister went to Canada for the summer and worked in a flower shop which sparked her love for arranging flowers. After college she worked in the office for the Oakdale Irrigation District for seven years.

Bertha became involved in the Associated Business Girls of California which covered the area from Bakersfield to Arcata. She was running for president and the election for state-wide officers was held at the Eureka Inn. Dorothy Scalvini, a local member, arranged the blind dates for the event. Bertha’s blind date was Ray Tedsen. She was campaigning and didn’t pay much attention to her date, but he immediately knew she was the one.

Bertha won the election that night in May, and won Ray’s heart too. They married the following November 27th 1955 and she moved to her new home in Ferndale where they raised their three daughters. Bertha attended St. Mark’s Lutheran Church with the Tedsen family, she was a church organist, sang in the church choir, the Ferndale Community Choir, and served as president of the LWML. She and Ray were in the Jolly Time Dance Club and had many friends in the wonderful community of Ferndale. Among other activities she played tennis with a group of women, participated in a weekly scrabble group gardened and quilted. She operated a florist business from her home — “Victorian Greenhouse” — for 13 years.

To know Bertha was to love Bertha. Her kindness, patience, sense of humor, strength, and zeal for life will be remembered in our hearts.

Bertha is preceded in death by her husband Raymond Tedsen, sister Betty Van Norman, brothers Clarence Van Norman (Mildred), and Hiram Van Norman (Annette). She was survived by her daughters, Peggy Patmore (George), Anita Gardner (Roger), Diane Dedekam (Mark); by grandchildren Daniel Patmore (Christina), David Patmore (Mandi), Lorien Jeanson (Jake), Rachel Shiney (Matthew), Nathan Gardner, Joel Gardner, Zachary Gardner, Samuel Gardner, Krista Dedekam, Janae Dedekam, Hayley Dedekam, Andrew Dedekam; great-grandchildren Beckett Patmore, Genevieve Patmore, Raylan Koffman.

A graveside service will be held at the Ferndale Cemetery on Friday, August 21 at 11 a.m. We kindly request all to wear a mask and observe social distancing. There will be standing area as well as level ground if anyone needs to bring a chair to sit in. You may also join the service virtually via Zoom ID: 789 6567 2734 Passcode: 153864.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation in Bertha’s honor to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.

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