Charles Rossum

Charles Rossum, age 95 of Brandon passed away at Bethany Home on Monday October 22. Charles Kermit Rossum was born in Carson North Dakota on February 5, 1917 to Kristian and Stella Rossum (Nelson) He was the 4th of 12 children. He was baptized in the Lutheran faith on July 1, 1917. He was raised on the farm near Carson and he was the first in his family to go to High school and graduated from Carson High School in 1937. After hopping a train to Montana and working on a ranch for the summer, he re-joined his family who had moved to Urness Township in Minnesota where worked for area farmers until he got a job with the Great Northern Railroad where he worked for 10 years. In 1939 he bought a car and agreed to take Hulda Nordlund to New York Mills to her parent?s house for Thanksgiving and again for Christmas. Then next time he saw Hulda was in February of 1940 while roller skating in Evansville. They were married on July 4, 1940 in Garfield Minnesota. To this union 4 children were born. On July 5, 1945 Charles was inducted into the U.S. Army and was assigned to troop trains running across the U.S. He was honorably discharged on October 25, 1945. In 1945 he rented a farm south of Evansville and farmed there for 3 years and in 1948 bought a farm south of Brandon and farmed there until 1957. In 1957 he moved his family to Montlcair California due to back problems. In 1958 the family returned to Minnesota and built the first all-electric house in Douglas County. Charles worked for the city of Brandon as a maintenance man and Police Officer, and drove school bus until 1966 when he took a job as a guard at the Minnesota State Prison in Stillwater. In 1967 he transferred to the Highway Department in Arden Hills, and in 1968 to the Highway Department in Evansville. He retired from there in 1982. After his retirement he had the opportunity to sit with and minister to five of his friends as they battled cancer. His friends and his family were always very important to him. He especially liked to spend time with his grandchildren and great- grandchildren. He loved to tease them and make them laugh. He loved to listen to the Minnesota Twins, gardening and playing cards with his friends. He served on the Brandon School Board, church boards, on the Brandon Fire Department for 8 years, and was a 63 year member of the American Legion. He was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Brandon since 1952. He was preceded in death by his parents Kristian and Stella, brothers Earl, Floyd, Max, Roger, and Curtiss, sisters: Alice, Bernice and Margaret, daughter Carol Koep, and great-grandson Rocky Lund. He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Hulda, daughter Colleen Lund and husband Dennis, sons Lynn Rossum and wife Sharon, and Gene Rossum and wife Mary, 14 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, 21 great-great-grandchildren, sisters Charlotte Dalum of Battle Lake, Evelyn Johnson and husband Bruce Harstad of Alexandria, brother Walter and wife Romona of Boise, Idaho, and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 26, 2012, 11:00 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church in Brandon. Burial will be at the Brandon Cemetery. Arrangements are with the Anderson Funeral Home.