Swedish Genealogy Society of Minnesota

Our President has Passed Away!

It is with great sadness we have to announce the loss of our President, Phyllis J. Pladsen. She will be sorely missed!
The following is her obituary published in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune from 4/13/2004 - 4/18/2004. Many are
saying she is now having a family reunion with her ancestors!

Phyllis J. Pladsen 1932 - 2004 
Phyllis J. Pladsen, fiercely loyal and beloved wife and mother, age 71, 
died at home in White Bear Lake on April 11, after suffering from a series 
of strokes, a heart attack, and other debilitating illnesses over the last 
several years. Survived by loving husband, Warren; sons, Glenn (Merri) of 
Denver, CO, Eric of WBL; and daughter, Karen (Gary) Bartig of NE Mpls. 
A freelance genealogist who enjoyed helping many others trace their Swedish 
ancestors, Phyllis was current president of the Swedish Genealogical Society 
of Minnesota, and principal author of a "Swedish Genealogical Dictionary" 
which has sold worldwide since 1991. She also researched and, along with 
Warren, visited relatives in Sweden and Norway, and traveled to the first 
Viking settlement established in North America at L'Anse aux Meadows, 
Newfoundland. Phyllis loved to read, and her favorite spaces were always 
filled with stacks of books, journals, and newsletters. She was an avid birder 
and dedicated environmentalist who loved the North Shore of Lake Superior and 
travels with Warren through the countryside of Sweden, Norway and Scotland. A 
memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at White Bear Unitarian 
Church, 328 Maple St., Mahtomedi, on April 24 at 10 a.m.  In lieu of flowers,
memorials are preferred to one of the many causes Phyllis supported - among
them, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Friends of ASI Archives and
Library, the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and the Friends of
Crex Meadows. Phyllis will be dearly missed by many.

Published in the Star Tribune from 4/13/2004 - 4/18/2004.