Bert and Dolly were my favorite relatives. I visited them in Waite Park several times and visited Bert in the nursing home. After I moved to Arizona, Dolly came to visit me! I am so glad that I was able to spend some good time with her. She was the best. My sympathies to her family. They are also special to me. Thank you to Bob for sharing the live stream of Dolly’s funeral service.
Edna "Dolly" Swenson
November 2, 1924 – July 29, 2026
Services
Schedule Details
Please join us in celebrating Dolly at 10:30 AM, Friday, August 7, 2026, at Benson Funeral Home, St. Cloud. Visitation 9:00-10:30 AM. Burial with Full Military Honors, 1:00 PM at the MN State Veterans Cemetery, Little Falls.
Edna Charlotte Swenson, lovingly known as “Dolly” since birth, passed away to be with the Lord on July 29, 2026, at the age of 101 years. She was in the loving care of Little Hospice in Edina, Minnesota and with many family members with her at the time of her death.
Please join us in celebrating Dolly at 10:30 AM, Friday, August 7, 2026, at Benson Funeral Home, St. Cloud. Visitation 9:00-10:30 AM. Burial with Full Military Honors, 1:00 PM at the MN State Veterans Cemetery, Little Falls.
Join us in celebrating Dolly’s sense of style by wearing flowered attire and pastels!
Dolly lived for her family, her faith, and her friends. We all loved hearing Dolly’s stories and taking her to special places and events. Nothing made her happier or her smile wider than to spend time with her grandkids and great-grandkids! She loved babies and all her grand-dogs too. Dolly had a green thumb and loved her flowers and plants. She had spunk and sass as well as a subtle sense of humor! She was well-known to family for her knack for bending the rules in her favor while playing games (cheating with a sly smile and denial, of course). Dolly was born on November 2, 1924, in the town of Little Fork, Minnesota. She proudly shared that the Midwife who delivered her arrived from International Falls, Minnesota by railroad hand car! At age 2, her parents, Jenny and Albert, Swedish immigrants, moved the family to Sauk Rapids Minnesota, where her father worked in the granite business. Dolly’s childhood home was on Raymond Avenue in St. Cloud. She and her siblings walked to school throughout the year, often over the frozen Mississippi River. Her family life was rich with school and family memories.
After graduating from Technical High School, St. Cloud MN in 1942, Dolly worked in the St. Cloud area. Later, she and her sister Bernice manufactured airplanes in California during WWII – our own “Rosie the Riveter!” After this, Dolly returned to St. Cloud and joined the WAVES, the Women’s Branch of the Navy. She served from December 1944 through May 1946 as a Pharmacy Technician at Great Lakes Naval Base serving severely emotionally injured servicemen.
After the war, Dolly met her future husband, Bert, at the wedding of their mutual best friends. Bert & Dolly were married on June 19, 1948. Their daughter Audrey was born in December 1949, another daughter Janna in 1951, and in 1956, twins Becky and Bob arrived.
Bert worked for International Harvester Farm Equipment in St. Cloud. He was transferred several times, moving the family to Fridley, MN, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Moorhead, MN and back to Fridley in 1973. Bert and Dolly moved back to the St. Cloud area in 1989 to be nearer extended family and friends in their retirement.
Dolly was widowed in 2007 and lived in and around St. Cloud until 2024 when she moved to Orchard Path Assisted Living in Apple Valley.
Dolly lived a happy and full life. She leaves dozens of us behind, working to live lives she would be proud of. Her family includes her four children known to Bert as “The Crew,” 11 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren plus nieces, nephews and their families.
Dolly had 6 siblings. Brother Jim (Linda) Wicklund lives on Elk Lake, Clearwater, Minnesota. The other passed before her: Arnie (Millie) Wicklund; Bernice (Ernie) Salmela; Evelyn (Richard) Watkins; Cleo (Steen) Anderson; and Audrey (Ed) Zins.
Join us in celebrating Dolly’s sense of style by wearing flowered attire and pastels!
And, in lieu of flowers and to honor Dolly’s green thumb, please feel free to bring bouquets or vases of flowers from your personal gardens.
Memorials can be made in Dolly’s name at: Little Hospice, 7019 Lynmar Lane, Edina, Minnesota 55435 littlehospice.org
Place of Hope, 511 9 Avenue North, St. Cloud, Minnesota 56303 placeofhopeministries.com
Dolly enjoyed her loving friends and tablemates at Orchard Path Assisted Living with whom she spent many hours. We would like to thank her caregivers at Orchard Path and Bright Star Home Care.
The kindness, love, and professional care of the Little Hospice caregivers was a blessed gift for Dolly in her final days. They will never be forgotten, as they created a safe, peaceful, and pain free journey of passage. Their care for all of Dolly’s family members will live as a precious memory for us all.
Thank you to all of Dolly’s loving friends and family who shared the 101 ½ years of her rich life with her!