Goodbye, Uncle George

George Kjeldseth passed away February 15th, 2019

Holly: My earliest memories of Uncle George were from about age 4 or 5. He would bounce my younger sister Jill and I on his knee with varying levels of vigor, explaining that “this is how the ladies ride: clop, clop clop… this is how the gentlement ride: giddy-up giddy-up giddy-up… this is how the cowboys ride: yeehaw!”

By the end of our knee-horse ride, we were being bucked around like kiddie-friendly bronc riders. It was fun, and for us as city kids, it was a novelty that never got old.

Uncle George (Kjeldseth) was just like that: a farmer who knew exactly how to relate to, and endear himself to pretty much anyone, be they visiting nieces and nephews from Houston, or fellow neighbor farms gathered at the Pump N Stuff cafe in Irene, SD (possibly with a good dusting of chaffe or fertile soil, adorning their work clothes).

Uncle George had the gift of gab, and a wide array of interests and areas of expertise, and so he could essentially shoot the breeze with anyone about nearly any topic. If Garrison Keillor is to be believed, the stereotypical Norwegian farmer is somewhat stoic and reserved, usually laconic and more or less singularly focused on farming his land. Uncle George was not a typical Norwegian farmer. He was much closer to Will Rogers in personality, in that he never met a stranger.

In addition to mine and Jill’s horsie rides, my brother Todd also got a good dose first-hand of swathing with George. The broad smile on his face after removing the handkerchief said it all. His eyes were raccoon’ed by the dust kicked up from swathing, with his pale skin elsewhere a stark contrast. Throw a John Deere gimme cap on his tousled messy hair and that was one happy kid – all thanks to George including him in on what he did.

What I remember most about Uncle George is how much of a family man he was. Surrounded by women – a wife, and 3 daughters – it would be easy to fall back onto compensatory “Dad” roles, but to my knowledge, he never did. He was there behind them all the way, from 4H to basketball, to prom and college and their own families over the years.

My cousins are some of the kindest and most generous and GENUINE people you’ll ever hope to meet, and that is a direct reflection of how they parents raised them

Joey first met Uncle George at our wedding in Durango. He and Aunt Loann flew out and we were both so glad they made it. Their presence made the whole event that much more “homey” and complete, which is the impact they usually have on any gathering of friends or family.

Joey: I first met George and Loan Kjeldseth at our wedding. Holly said her Aunt and Uncle were coming. I was impressed that they’d travel so far just to attend this event. But that would be just the first of many events they’d travel far to attend! Good for them. They turned out to be great people and family. 🙂

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Holly: We later paid them a visit on a drive up to South Dakota, and Joey got the $10 tour of the farm. Quite a treat, and as always, welcoming, funny and just so easy to hang out with.

Joey: Got drive an ATV and a huge tractor!

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Holly: As the years went by, I got to talk more with George about “adult” things, including handling Mom’s share of the farm’s taxes. Uncle George basically ran 3 family farms: his parents farm, his farm, and the farm of Loann’s (and my Mom’s) parents. That is no mean feat. It’s a challenging way to earn a living, and though there were often losing battles with Mother Nature, I know he always did well and I never heard a word of complaint.

A few years later, the Kjeldseths made a few trips down to Houston to visit. In both cases, it was right around Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo time, and so of course we all went. George was in his element there for sure! This was in 2011, and we got to be hosts and tour guides, taking them to some of the historically important parts of town, including over 50 stories up in one of the downtown skyscrapers. Loann tells me that George spoke of that trip for years afterwards.

Joey: George and Loann stayed at our house, so I decided to be a host and tour guide and do some exploring. We did the Heritage Tour in downtown Houston, visited the historic cemetary on Washington Avenue, did Rodeo Houston, and went up to the observation deck in Chase Tower. That was a busy and interesting week!!

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Holly: In 2013, the second trip was part of a multi-family cruise (folks from both Joey’s and my side of our marriage) to the Caribbean and Mexico. It was a wonderful experience for all involved, and also a reunion for many who had first met at our wedding. Uncle George made new friends on a few different islands, and even found Fort George, in the Caymans 🙂

Joey: Went parasailing with my mother. Spent time with both families and had LOTS of fun! Great trip all around. ‘Nuff said. Here’s a bunch of pics: https://theduttonfamily.com/index.php/2013/03/29/photo-tsunami-family-cruise-to-jamaica-2013/

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Holly: A few years later, and one more trip down to Houston around rodeo time. For this visit, Joey’s Mom and her husband also coordinated with coming down, and we all went to see Cirque du Soleil (a highlight of that was the opening act – a world famous juggler, dressed in a lizard costume – would wander the audience pre-show and mess with people. He licked Larry’s head at one point, haha!.

Joey: In March of 2015, the crew showed up again in Houston! It wasn’t really planned, but just sort of happened. So we spent some time together and Jane treated all of us to a Cirque du Soleil show! http://theduttonfamily.com/index.php/2015/03/25/spring-break-and-family-swooping-in/. We even got plucked out of the crowd and given some special attention by this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6OB4EDrUAA

Holly: In March of 2017, once again we then took that show on the road with a weekend trip to Waco, as the women in our group were all into Fixer Upper. George, Joey and Larry went along for the ride dutifully, and I think did also enjoy themselves, even if the marathon shopping wasn’t high on their to-do list.

Joey: Waco? Why would anyone go to Waco? The ladies decided they wanted to visit this town mostly because of that show “Fixer Upper”on HGTV. Even my mom was interested, so it turns out we all met up in Waco for a couple of days of exploring and shopping. Turns out, Waco is actually pretty interesting! We visited the Magnolia site, several tourist locals, a dinosaur bones museum, and even got lucky with a cheap steak night at a Texas Roadhouse restaurant. Good trip! Lots of fun. Click here for some pics and stuff:http://theduttonfamily.com/index.php/2017/03/20/went-wild-in-waco/

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Holly: That trip to Waco was the last time I saw Uncle George, though we’d often just talk over the phone, checking in to see how each other was doing, etc. The last couple years, things were starting to come around under the topic of “how much longer are you going to run the farms?” This involved discussions with Mom of course, because she still had a claim to half of her parents farm, which George had been running.

In August 2018, George and Loann celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. From what I could see, it was a wonderful and heart-felt event full of family and life-long friends. About the same time, Mom was trying to arrange some time to go up there and take a preliminary look into some legal stuff around the farm.

A few weeks later, we all got the bad news. Uncle George was diagnosed with glioblastoma.

We all prayed and several of us made trips up to South Dakota in support of Loann and George. Reports of his health had ups and downs over the next 3-4 months. However, the nature of this particular form of cancer is one that puts survival rates in very bleak territory. By January, George had been moved into a nursing home, and word from those who visited was that he had increasing difficulty keeping straight what timeframe he was talking about. He struggled to find the right word, and his timeline was erratic. Gradually he began sleeping more, and eventually he stopped talking almost entirely.

Mom visited them for 2 weeks in early February, during the most brutal winter in decades, and when she returned it was evident – even if not explicitly spoken – that Uncle George probably didn’t have much time left with us. 3 days later, we got the call from hospice care that he was deteriorating rapidly, and on the morning of February 15th, Uncle George passed. Peacefully, I’m told, though if he could have said goodbye with a story, I’m sure he would have.

My own dad succumb to cancer when I was 14, and at the time, that left such a hole in my life. I don’t think that’s the case this time around with George. Why? Because thankfully we had so much more time with him, that the love and life he lead was implanted in all of us, to carry on and grow in the future.

Like a good farmer does.

For those who met him, they remember him. I’m sure he’s remembering each of y’all now, and gabbing away with anyone who will listen, up in Heaven.

Much love.

-Holly