Carol Andersen, age 81, of Twin Valley, MN, died Sunday, September 27, 2015, in Sanford Health, Fargo.

Carol Joy Lawrence was born June 16, 1934, in Salt Lake City, UT, the daughter of Sydney and Dagmar (Saker) Lawrence. With their young daughter, they relocated to Gary, MN, where Carol was raised. Dagmar was united in marriage to Alvin Anderson on October 3, 1942. The couple made their home near Gary where Carol attended school, graduating from Gary High School with the class of 1952. On February 3, 1952, Carol was united in marriage to Roger Andersen in Gary. The couple made their home near Gary until 1956, when they moved to Moorhead, MN, when Roger returned to school. Upon receiving his teaching degree, the family moved to Ruthven, IA, for two years followed by Linn Grove, IA, for an additional four years. In 1967, Roger and Carol returned to the Twin Valley area to live, work and raise their family. In addition to being a wife and mother, Carol worked different jobs outside the home. Over the years, she worked as a waitress, a telephone operator, and a home health aide. Carol truly enjoyed the many years she worked as a columnist for the Twin Valley Times and Gary Graphic, writing "Carol's Collection". Following several years of loyal employment, Carol retired from the newspaper in 1999. The couple continued to reside in Twin Valley and remained active in the community. Roger died in November of 2006, and Carol lived in their home until she entered the nursing home in March of 2011.

Some of Carol's favorite hobbies included sewing, knitting and crocheting. She was a member of the quilters group, sewing many blankets for World Relief and locally, Project Linus. She enjoyed all types of arts and crafts and faithfully attended Valley Pines on Tuesdays. Carol also spent time gardening, canning, and tending to her flowers. As a longtime member, Carol was active in many facets at St. Olaf Lutheran Church. She was in the ladies aid, quilting club, taught Sunday School and served as superintendent for several years. However, first and foremost was family. Carol was very family oriented. She truly treasured the time she spent with her children and grandchildren, following all of their activities.

Carol is survived by three daughters: Darlene (Tom) Kroll, of Owatonna, MN, Connie Hamernik of Twin Valley, MN, and Angela Andersen of Moorhead, MN; four sons: Roderick of Twin Valley, Barry of Glyndon, MN, Leon (Karen) of Fargo, ND and Roger of Hawley, MN; 19 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; a sister, Linda Long of Provo, UT; two brothers, Alden Anderson of Gary, and Sydney Lawrence of Salt Lake City, UT; two brothers-in-law, Larry Andersen of Gilbert, MN, and Frank (Fran) Burkholder of Grand Forks, ND; two sisters-in-law, Margaret "Peggy" (Marvin) Hanson of Twin Valley, Irene Olson of Spokane, WA, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her birth father, Sydney; parents, Dagmar and Alvin Anderson; husband; one brother, Donald Lawrence and two great-grandchildren, LeAnn and Sean.

Funeral Services were  held Saturday, October 3, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in St. Olaf Church, rural Twin Valley. Visitation was Friday, October 2nd, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with a Prayer Service at 6:30 p.m. led by Pastor Norm Gullingsrud, at the Anderson Family Funeral Home, Twin Valley. Visitation was also one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday. Officiating was Pastor Jim Greene with music provided by Monica Winter. Pallbearers were her grandsons: Aaron Andersen, Patrick Andersen, David Andersen, Brady Andersen, Jacob Andersen, Samuel Andersen, Robert McSweeney, Jonathan Erdahl, Jai Hamernik, Joshua Andersen and Daniel Kroll. Honorary pallbearers were  her granddaughters: Kristin Strom, Abigail Blakeway, Kathryn Hamernik, Karissa Andersen, Lillian Andersen, Shelleane Janssen, Susan Orbus, Lindsay Ernst and Maren Marks.

Interment was in St. Olaf Lutheran Cemetery, Twin Valley.