Frances Strom

Frances Ann Strom, 89, Bismarck, went to Heaven on March 6, 2025, at Benedictine Living Community in Bismarck.

A funeral service will be held at 10:30 AM, Thursday, March 13, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Pkwy, Bismarck. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.

Burial will be held at Rosehill Cemetery, Beulah.

Frances (Hlavinka) Strom was born on July 29, 1935, in Paradise, ND to John and Ida (Koenig) Hlavinka. She was the third oldest of five siblings, Delbert, Duane, Jo Anne and Maxine. She graduated from Carson High School and received a teaching degree from Dickinson State College.

She met Dale Strom who was working for a power company in Dickinson. They were married on June 15, 1957. They lived in Beulah for two years and then bought a farm home 14 and 1/2 miles north of Carson.

Frances and Dale were members of the New Leipzig Baptist Church. Frances loved teaching in Carson. She also loved to make connections with her students and taught for 43 years. Even after she retired, she continued to substitute teach.

She found gardening and yard work relaxing. Her yard was full of beautiful flowers. If she wasn’t working in her yard, she was helping Dale with farming. Frances loved being a farm-wife. She enjoyed cooking and baking and she was always glad to share with her neighbors and friends.

After she moved to Bismarck, her favorite activities were to spend time with her grandkids and help her daughter, Luz McCann, with her yard. She couldn't wait to come play with our dog Boo. Frances enjoyed going to Fort Collins, CO to visit her daughter, Shirley Messmer.

Frances is survived by her daughters, Luz (Mark) McCann, Bismarck, ND, Shirley (Steve) Messmer, Fort Collins, CO; brother, Duane Hlavinka; twin-sister, Jo Anne Balas; sister, Maxine Cline; brother-in-law, Jerome (Marilyn) Strom; sisters-in-law, Judy (Roger) Dearduff and Marlys Hlavinka; grandchildren, Ashley Hoffmann, Fargo, Adam Hoffmann, Fargo, Jordon Messmer, Manhattan, KS, Brenden Messmer, Fort Collins, CO, Andrew McCann, Bismarck, and Alex McCann, Bismarck; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Ida Hlavinka; husband, Dale; brother, Dr. Delbert Hlavinka; sister-in-law, Carol Hlavinka; brothers-in-law, Dr. Harold Balas and Donald Cline.