Mable Caroline Nordlof, 93

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Mable Caroline Nordlof, who passed away on July 29, 2025, at the age of 93.  Mable was born on June 25, 1932, to John Gunnar and Bessie Johnson in Birchdale, MN.  She succumbed to a short battle of pancreatic cancer at her daughter, Nancy’s, home in East Grand Forks, MN.   She was cared for by her daughter, Nancy, and her granddaughter, Amy, who will have lasting memories of their time spent together.  
Mable and her family left Birchdale when she was 4 years old and lived in a variety of places, including St. Louis, Missouri, Arkansas, and Thief River Falls, Minnesota, while her Dad worked construction.   They returned to Birchdale, MN when she was 12, and she attended school in Border and Indus. She later moved to International Falls, MN, for her first job away from home at 16 years old.  A year after, she moved to Baudette, MN, and took a job with an electrical company. 
It was there she met the love of her life, Niles “Obbie” Nordlof.  She was working a waitress job in the evenings, and her boss warned her to hide the ketchup bottles as the Nordlof brothers used too much!  Despite that “small flaw,” she married Obbie on April 28, 1949. Each generation continues to love ketchup, and probably still uses too much!   
Mable’s passion in life was being a mother to her two children, James “Jim” and Nancy, and later a Grandmother to her four grandchildren, Buck, Tim, Shawn, and Amy.  Her love knew no boundaries. She opened her heart and her home, “adopting” Sandy Dickey and Scott Fritsinger, making them forever a part of our family. This made Nancy’s wish come true for the baby brother she always dreamed of. 
She was also the “surrogate” Mom and Grandma to all the neighborhood children, including Frank Sindelir, Tim O’Neil, Ed and Pat Spires and family, Jim and Barb Walton and family, and many, many others she took under her wing. She was blessed to continue enjoying two more generations with great-grandchildren Jase, Jenica, Hunter, Tanner, Alayna, Spencer, Ella, Josie, James, Jaynie, and her newest addition of Wednesday, who made her a great-great-grandmother.  Mable also enjoyed a wonderful bond with her siblings, Earl, Violet, Ralph, Dale, Lynn, and Faye – affectionately known as “The Magnificent Seven”.  
Mable worked alongside Obbie on their farm on the Nordlof family homestead in Gudrid Township, raising a variety of animals, as well as crops.   She was the true epitome of a farmer’s wife, always providing tailgate lunches, family dinners, words of wisdom, and willing to jump on the tractor whenever she was needed.  She also worked outside the home for over 30 years with the Federal Government through the ASCS office in Baudette.  
She retired in 1990 to be a caregiver for Obbie when he began having medical issues.  She was always a strong matriarch for her family, even through the darkest days of her life with the sudden loss of her beloved son Jim, at the age of 34, husband Obbie at 69, and great-grandson Hunter at 16.  
Over the years, Mable has enjoyed an abundance of hobbies and excelled at everything she did.  She was a wonderful cook and baker, and her apple pies were well known throughout the area.   She took great pride in her flower beds, sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and painting. She provided everyone she loved with her beautiful handiwork. She also spent many years playing cards and cribbage, being a tough competitor. Mable loved the Minnesota Twins, and was always looking ahead to know their schedule and the time of the next ball game. Mable was a kind and thoughtful person, always putting her family and others first.  She shared a multitude of wisdom, advice, and love, and has left her imprint on the hearts of everyone she met.

Mable is survived by her Daughter- Nancy (Mark) McLaurin; Grandchildren - James “Buck” (Kellie) Nordlof, Tim (Jennifer) Nordlof, Shawn (Shawna) Wendler, and Amy (Matt) Jorstad;  Great Grandchildren- Tanner and Ella Nordlof, Alayna Nordlof, Jase, Jenica, Josie, James, and Jaynie Wendler, and Spencer Meyer; Great-Great Granddaughter- Wednesday Wendler; Siblings- Ralph Johnson, Dale Johnson, Lynn (Larry) Gomez, and Faye Johnson. As well as many nieces, nephews, close family friends, and “adopted” relatives.  She was preceded in death by her Husband, Niles “Obbie” Nordlof; Son, James “Jim” Nordlof; grandson, Hunter Nordlof; Parents, John Gunnar and Bessie Johnson; Brother, Earl Johnson; Sister, Violet Andrest; and Special Friends-Melvin Carlson and Tim O’Neil.  
Please join us for a Celebration of Life service at Clementson Lutheran Church in Clementson, MN, on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at 2:00pm with fellowship and a simple lunch following, just as Mable requested.  Her final resting place will be at Silver Creek Cemetery in Baudette, MN, amongst her treasured loved ones who passed before her.  Her burial will be at a later date with her immediate family.  
May her love of life and her legacy be seen through generations still with us and those to come. She will be dearly missed by everyone.  We are at peace knowing she is reunited with those she has loved and lost.