Josephine Ann “Jo” Erdman, 91, of Crookston passed away Thursday afternoon, December 15, 2022, in Benedictine Living Community Crookston with family at her side. Jo had been a resident there since 2020. Jo was born on June 5, 1931, in Winger, the daughter of Jens and Alpha (Vraa) Bolstad. In 1936 she and her family moved to Crookston where she grew up with her five siblings and attended Crookston schools including Central High School. As a teenager she also worked as a waitress at the Crookston Grill Café. On October 22, 1949, Jo was united in marriage to Harold Edward Erdman in a ceremony held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Jo and Harold settled into married life on their farm south of town. In the coming years they would be blessed by the births of their four children: Susan, Kathryn, Douglas, and Candace, who they raised in a very busy and very loving home. As many farm wives did, Jo would bring full noon meals to the men in the fields during harvest and start cooking all over again to put an evening meal on the table for her family. She was famous for her apple pies and cakes with homemade 7-minute frosting. Throughout her life, Jo enjoyed a very social lifestyle. While living on the farm, she attended and hosted birthday celebrations with neighboring farm wives, a birthday club and ritual that lasted many years. Jo and Harold belonged to the Night Owl bowling league at Corral Lanes where they met many lifelong friends. They also enjoyed wintertime traveling with their friends and neighbors from the Crookston area. Highlights included a 25th anniversary trip to Hawaii with Paul and Lois Proulx and many winter months spent with Ted and Kay Burdenie in Naples, Fla. Jo was a devoted member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, WELCA, and several committees of the church. She also held memberships in the VFW and American Legion Auxiliaries and served for several years on the Parent Liaison Committee at Central High School. In their younger years, she and Harold fo
