Ralph Vigoren, 70, of Gully passed away on Monday, May 22 after a brief battle with colon cancer at Essentia Hospital in Fosston. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31 at Bethel Assembly Church in Fosston with Pastor Seth Johnson officiating. Interment will be in Froen Cemetery, rural Fosston. Visitation will be held from 12 until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31 at the church. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service of Fosston. Messages of condolence may be sent and a livestream of the service viewed at www. carlinfuneral.com. Memorials will be donated to the Sand Hill Lake Bible Camp. From Ralph... I was born May 19, 1953, in Fosston to Ole and Ruth (Mickelson) Vigoren. I attended the Sunnyside one-room school in Queen Township through 6th grade. In 1971, I graduated from Fosston High School. During the 70s, and throughout high school, I worked at Hartz in Fosston for Poop Offerdahl. I enjoyed this job because it gave me the opportunity to visit with people in the community. At Christmas we sold lutefisk out of wood barrels at the back of the store. In the fall of 1971, I attended Thief River Falls Vocational School for the trade of welding. After graduating, I worked as a welder for two years at United States Steel in Mountain Iron. Kay, Andrea, and I lived outside of Virginia, Minn., during this time. After a move back to the Fosston area, I worked as a farm hand for my father-in-law, Lloyd, for four years. After that, I started at American Crystal Sugar in Crookston where I welded for 28 years, all while raising four children. During a chance encounter while upgrading my cell phone, I started visiting with Ken Charpentier. This led to a job with Charps Welding and Fabricating in Clearbrook which I held for nine years. This job gave me the opportunity to travel across the U.S. and see sites I had never seen. I took advantage of being able to visit with friends and family along the way. Charps Welding and Fabricating was very good to
