Evelyn Mae Kjos passed away the early morning hours of Wednesday, August 27, 2014 with her family by her side at Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville. She was 86 years old. The Celebration of Life Service is Friday, August 29, 2014 at 2:00 PM with visitation from 12:00 Noon – 2:00 PM at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, Prior Lake. Evelyn will be laid to rest next to her husband at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
It was a cold winter day in Granite Falls on December 18, 1927 when Fred and Mabel (Stewart) Doose celebrated the birth of their beautiful baby girl, Evelyn Mae. She was the middle child and loved growing up with her older brother Darold and younger sister Margery. The Doose family lived on a farm where they raised cows and chickens. They also farmed the land growing soybeans and corn. Evelyn helped out with the daily chores and developed a strong work ethic that served her well the rest of her life.
At the age of 16 Evelyn graduated from high school as the valedictorian of her class. She then moved down to the twin cities to attend Minneapolis Business College with her cousin Dorothy. Evelyn enjoyed the cities, but moved back to the Granite Falls area after completing her program. She got her first job working for Clarkfield Bank.
As a young woman, Evelyn enjoyed spending time with her friends. One evening she and her friends met a group of naval officers. One of those officers was Roy Kjos, the love of Evelyn’s life. She and Roy were married on July 2, 1949 at an outdoor ceremony at the Doose family farm. They were blessed with three wonderful children, Rob, Denise and Lori.
Evelyn and Roy took their family camping, fishing and competed in horse shows. Evelyn was secretary of the Orchard Rangers Saddle Club, and she enjoyed organizing the registration booth for the weekend horse shows. Throughout her life, Evelyn did a great job balancing her family and her career. Evelyn worked full time for 38+ years as the City Clerk for the growing city of Burnsville. After retirement she did consulting work in records management for the cities of Lakeville, Savage and the Apple Valley Fire Department.
She was also very active at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church. She helped with records management and formed the Heritage Committee which is currently planning the church’s 50 th anniversary celebration scheduled in 2015.
Evelyn loved gardening, playing cards, attending book club and completing crossword puzzles ( in ink ). She enjoyed traveling with her husband. They made it to Alaska and took yearly trips to visit Rob and his family in Montana. Roy and Evelyn did a lot of entertaining together. Roy was an avid hunter, and Evelyn was an excellent chef. She would prepare the wild game beautifully.
In 2009, Evelyn moved to Glendale Place in Savage. She loved it there and made many wonderful friends. She never missed Monday night BINGO or morning coffee with the ladies. Evelyn was blessed with the gift of being able to enjoy life to the fullest. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend to many.
Evelyn will be deeply missed and remembered always by her children, Robert “Rob” (Rita) Kjos, Denise (Bill Van Cleve) Schmidt, Lori (Steve) Hindt; grandchildren, Laurel (Shawn) Kultgen, Beth (Chris) Wallace, Brooke (Micah) Dodge, Naomi Kjos, Rosalyn (Doug) Chromy, Robert “Bobby” (Nicole) Schmidt, Nicholas Hindt, Tracy Hindt; great-grandchildren, Joscelyn, Alex, Linnea, Caden, Kylee, Cale, Madison, Sydney, Brookelynn and Aria; brother, Darold (Gladys) Doose; other loving relatives and many friends. There to greet Evelyn in Heaven is her husband of 53 years, Roy Kjos; parents; sister, Margery Cunningham.
Pall bearers for Evelyn are Robert Schmidt, Doug Chromy, Caden Chromy, Cale Chromy, Steve Hindt, Nicholas Hindt and Tracy Hindt.
