Ralph Ingmar Honsvall

Ralph I. Honsvall, 94 of Stillwater, MN passed away on Tuesday, August 13, 2013 at the Good Samaritan Society - Stillwater. Ralph was born on the family farm near Grafton, ND on March 21, 1919, the son of Anton and Christine (Hegstad) Honsvall, both natives of Norway. He attended Grafton schools. He was married to Phyllis B. Peterson of St. Thomas, ND on August 6, 1943 in Grand Forks, ND. Together, they raised their children in Grafton. Ralph was very active in the community, serving as a board member of the Grafton Lutheran Church, Grafton Deaconess Hospital and many other organizations. Ralph served in the Army during World War II, from 1942 to 1945. Ralph was in the oil business in Grafton beginning in 1938, first with the Torkelson & Honsvall Standard Station and later the Honsvall Oil Company (DX and Pure Oil). In the 1960’s he started the Honsvall Real Estate Company in Grafton, a real estate brokerage business. In 1971, Ralph and Phyllis purchased River Oaks Lodge on the Rainy River near Baudette, MN and operated that until 1989. In addition to running the resort, Ralph continued operating the real estate business. After selling the resort in 1989 Ralph and Phyllis split their time between their lake home on the Rainy River near Baudette and Stillwater where three of their children lived. For many years Ralph worked part time at Ace Hardware in Stillwater. Ralph was a wonderful husband and father and will be deeply missed by his family. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 66 years, Phyllis; parents Anton and Christine; brothers Arvid and Phillip; and sister Margaret. He is survived by daughters Joanne Honsvall-Berg of Stillwater, Mary Lou Sandager (Paul) of Scandia; sons, Paul (Kris) of Edina and Jim (Susan) of Stillwater; nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. A Funeral Service will be held at 1 pm on Monday, August 26, 2013 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at church. Interment will be at Grafton Lutheran Church Cemetery in Grafton, ND at a later date.

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