Caroline Arne Billigmeier, formerly Of Minot, ND, died of natural causes in hospice care on Saturday, June 30, 2018. She had recently turned 100. Caroline was born on April 25, 1918 in Gig Harbor, Washington to John and Klara Arne (Holey). Both her parents died when she was a little girl and she was brought to North Dakota and taken in and raised by the George and Hanna Georgeson family in Heimdal, ND. She was preceded in death by all her brothers and sisters.
She graduated from high school by correspondence through the North Dakota Department of Education Division of Independent Study. She always proudly pointed out that both she and former North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Lloyd Omdahl were graduates of that program. On July 2, 1939 Caroline married William "Bill" Billigmeier of Heimdal, a grain buyer and grain elevator manager. They lived and raised their sons in several North Dakota communities including Berwick, Cleveland, Hebron, Glenburn, Beach and Des Lacs. In 1961 they moved to Minot, ND. Caroline assisted her husband in the grain business and while living in Minot she worked as an aide at Trinity Homes.
She was a member of the Congregational United Church of the Christ in Minot. She was preceded in death by her husband in August of 1996. Caroline resided in the independent living section of Trinity Homes in Minot from 2005 until 2014 when she moved to the assisted living facility at St. Andrew's Village in Mahtomedi, MN.
Survivors include sons Win Curtiss and his wife Patricia (White Bear Lake, MN) and Steve Billigmeier and his wife Carol (Las Vegas, NV); grandchildren Wynn Curtiss and his wife Jean (Eden Prairie, MN), Randy Curtiss and his wife Rachel (Willmar, MN), Leanne (Seattle, WA); and great grandchildren Molly and Grace Curtiss (Eden Prairie, MN), Nicole and Matt Dorsey (Wenatchee, WA), Brittany, Sarah and Joshua Curtiss (Willmar, MN); and several nieces and nephews.
A Private Memorial Service will be held at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, MN. A private family interment will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Minot, ND.