Lena Diede

Lena Mae (Tomlinson) Diede, 93, formerly of Underwood, met Jesus face to face May 29, 2025, at the Baptist Health and Rehab after a 9 year struggle with Alzheimer’s.

Lena’s Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 AM, Friday, June 27, 2025 at Concordia Lutheran Church, Benedict, ND.

Internment will follow at Bethania Lutheran Cemetery, rural Benedict.

Lena Mae was born November 8, 1931 in rural Ruso, ND, to Mary (Spelevoy) and Roy Tomlinson. There was no doctor available so Mrs. Ed Erickson was the midwife on that cold November night. Lena developed grit and a strong work ethic growing up and helping with the care of her 8 brothers and her long awaited baby sister. She cherished the memories of those early years until the very end.

She attended school in Benedict, ND and graduated from Max High School in 1949 as the class valedictorian. Lena continued to be a lifelong learner, inspiring her children to do the same.

Lena married the love of her life, Wayne Diede, December 31, 1949 in Velva, ND. Five children were born to this union: Janeen, Jay, Lynelle, Neal and Danna. Their early years as a growing family were spent in Benedict, Garrison and Max. They moved to Underwood, ND in 1960. Wayne worked construction and the job took them on the road to Georgia and North Carolina for a year. Lena so enjoyed the history and the cultural experiences these states had to offer.

We know Mom would want her life described in “25 words or less” but her life story cannot be told with so few words. She spent many years in the 1960’s entering jingle writing contests that required this rule. She won numerous prizes from a diamond watch to $25 a week free groceries for a year to the ultimate, a real live Shetland pony!

Mom worked as a waitress and at the local hardware store in Underwood before moving to Gilcrest, Colorado in 1972. She was a valuable asset as bookkeeper/manager of a large farm supply store there until her retirement in 1996. She loved difficult crossword puzzles, horses, Labradors and researching. She was a prolific gardener and had a talent for fixing just about anything. She returned home to Underwood in 2003 to enjoy her retirement.

In 2018 she moved to Maple View Memory Care in Bismarck for 5 years and then lived at the Baptist Health and Rehab for the last 2 years of her life. Special thanks to these facilities and their devoted staff for the outstanding, compassionate care she received through the long goodbye of Alzheimer’s.

Lena is survived by her sons, Jay Diede (Sheree) Minot, ND; Neal Diede (Laura Fillmore), Oroville, CA; daughters Janeen (Mike) Norland, Bismarck, ND; Lynelle Diede, Ft. Collins, CO; and Danna (Jim) Nechiporenko, Center, ND; 10 grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren; brothers, Fred (LuAnn) Tomlinson; John Tomlinson; Allen Tomlinson; Tom (Gwen) Tomlinson; Stanley (Violet) Tomlinson and sister Kathy (Don) Turkowski; sisters-in-law Darlene Tomlinson and Marjo Diede plus numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, former husband Wayne, brothers LeRoy, Theodore and George, sisters-in-law Elsie Tomlinson, Kaye Tomlinson, Jan Tomlinson, JoAnn Diede Smith, Joleen Diede Lehnherr; and grandson Josh Norland.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Lena’s honor to the Bethania Cemetery Fund, ℅ Concordia Lutheran Church, Box 187, Benedict, ND 58716 or the church of your choice.