Bena Andersen

Bena Andersen, 109, long time resident of Atlantic and Elk Horn, Iowa, passed on at the Salem Lutheran Home in Elkhorn, on Sunday, January 29, 2006.Bena was born on December 21, 1896, the daughter of Jacob and Anna (Rassmussen) Blom in Brayton. She was reared and schooled in Brayton and married to Martin Andersen in Saint Joseph, MO on May 3, 1932. The couple farmed near Grove City, southeast of Atlantic, and was blessed with one daughter.Bena was a telephone operator in Brayton for years. She loved hand work, crocheting, playing cards and was a meticulous house keeper. Those who knew her will remember her for her determination and a sense of humor. When Bena turned one hundred and five (and up), family and friends were tickled at her response when folks would comment on her wonderful age, "Yes, but don"t you think I look more like one hundred?"Bena is survived by her daughter, Norma Andersen and her husband, Claude, of rural Atlantic; one grandson, Rick Andersen and his wife, Laurie of McMinnville, Oregon; four great grandsons, Anthony Andersen of Eugene, Oregon, Tyler Andersen of Beaverton, Oregon, Erik Andersen of McMinnville, and Alex Andersen of McMinnville; a nephew, Frank Smith of Brayton and his wife, Marilyn; a niece, Erma Rucker of Exira and a number of great nieces and nephews.She was preceded in death by her husband, Martin; her parents; sisters, Mollie Jorgensen, Lydia Smith and Halvor Blom; and a brother, Aurthur Blom.There will be open visitation at the Roland Funeral Home. Interment will be in the Atlantic Cemetery at 1:00PM on Thursday, February 2 followed by a memorial service at the Salem Lutheran Home in Elk Horn, IA at 2:00PM. Refreshments will be served at the Salem Lutheran Home following the memorial service.Funeral InformationSpecial Services: 1:00 interment at the Atlantic Cemetery 2:00 Memorial Service at the Salem Lutheran Home in Elk HornFuneral: 2/2/2006, 2:00:00 PMBurial: Atlantic Cemetery