Vivien Dawn Mathsen

Dateline: Spring Grove, MN Vivien Dawn (Knudsvig) Mathsen was born on December 26, 1934, to Garth and Mabel (Norgard) Knudsvig in Wheeler, Montana. She was the eldest of three children, after which came her sister, Myrna, and the youngest child and brother, Byron. She was born during the height of the Great Depression when life for most Americans was very uncertain and difficult. Garth worked on the building of Fort Peck Dam, a New Deal initiative. It was a huge project which included the building of a town to house thousands of workers and their families. One of the earliest pictures of a very young Vivien is her with her father and mother standing on the steps of their housing unit, which looked to be no more than a shack. The town was demolished after the dam was completed in 1940, and the family move back to Havre. Vivien had a normal and happy, if modest, upbringing in Havre. Her father managed a gas station and her mother was a loving and devoted homemaker. Vivien loved to sing and joined the high school choir which had just come under the directorship of a young, energetic and determined college graduate from northern Minnesota by the name of Almore “Matt” Mathsen. He was also her voice teacher. Apparently the two had taken a fancy to each other, which caused some eyebrows to be raised – especially her father’s – since Mr. Mathsen was seven years her senior! However, on June 6, 1954, they were happily married and soon began a family. In 1958 Matt received a call to be the Director of Music and Choir Master at Trinty Lutheran Church in Spring Grove, Minnesota. He also received a part-time position at the local public school to teach General Music and direct the Choral Music Program. So off they went to Spring Grove with two young children, Eric and Kari, and Luther on the way. Two more children soon followed – Paul and Peter- to complete the family. Vivien said frequently that all she ever wanted in life was to be a good mother and have a large family. She also said that she wanted to create beautiful memories for them. She was a most loving and good mother, and she did, indeed, create many beautiful memories for her family and numerous friends. She took her life-long vocation as a mother very seriously and was a “mother” to many- even outside her own family. Vivien will always be remembered for her large, generous and loving heart which she expressed through warm hospitality and delicious food. She was a marvelous cook, and many were blessed by her Midwestern comfort foods: bulgar buns, sticky cinnamon rolls, lefse, Minnesota wild rice soup, “Tator-Tot” hot dish, to name a few. The tradition of warm hospitality and good food was passed on and continues with her children and grandchildren. Vivien was deeply involved in the life of Trinity Lutheran Church. She loved little children and for many years taught them in the church’s religious education program. She sang in the adult church choir for decades. She participated in various women groups which served luncheons after funerals; made quilts for the mission fields; visited and cared for the elderly and participated in group Bible studies. Vivien was not unaccustomed to suffering. She lost her mother at an early age to a massive stroke. On December 14, 1968, her father, brother and three-year-old niece were in a plane crash killing her brother and seriously injuring her father and niece. On February 18, 2014, her beloved husband of almost 60 years died after suffering dementia and two years in a skilled nursing facility. More recently her sister, Myrna, died in 2023, and in 2024 her youngest child and son, Peter (62), suffered a premature and unexpected death. Her deep faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has sustained her through all the joys and sorrows, the agonies ad ecstasies of her long life. In 2022 she moved to an adult care facility in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to be near her children after living 64 years in Spring Grove. She had two and a half happy years there, and, as always, charmed and befriended the staff and residents. Vivien Dawn Mathsen died at 90 years of age from a brief bout of influenza on February 16, 2025. She was a remarkably loving and much beloved person who had a full, rich and blessed life. She is survived by her children, Eric, Kari, Luther, Paul and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She has richly blessed her family and all who knew and loved her. She will be missed. We give thanks to God for the time that we had with her and for the beautiful legacy she leaves with us. We now entrust her to the mercy and love of God. Rest eternal grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. Memorial services for Viven will be held on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at 1:00 P.M. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Spring Grove, Minnesota Burial will be in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery. Roble Funeral Home of Spring Grove is assisting the family with arrangements.

Vivien Dawn Mathsen

December 26, 1934 - February 16, 2025