Frances Mildred Nikkari

Frances Mildred (Paurus) Nikkari, age 85, of Sebeka, MN died at home on March 12, 2010, in Sebeka, MN. Frances was born to Valentin (Walter) P. Paurus and Lydia (Raatikka) Paurus on April 15, 1924, in Paddock Township, Otter Tail Co., MN. She attended Greenway School District 171, graduating from eighth grade in May, 1937. During her high school freshman year, she and her two sisters and two cousins lived in a large rented room in Sebeka, coming home on weekends. The following year, her father, the treasurer of the school board, helped secure bus service for rural students so they could live at home. She graduated from Sebeka High School in 1941. Frances attended Duluth State Teachers College and was certified to teach after only one year because of a shortage of teachers during to World War II. She became a country school teacher at age 18 and taught at Wadena County School District 23, Hay Creek School District 219, a school near Butler, MN, and finally her home school of Greenway between September 1942 and May 1950. Frances was united in marriage to Albin Nikkari on June 10, 1950, at Paddock Bethany Lutheran Church. They had two daughters, Deborah and Mary. Frances returned to teaching at the Sebeka Public School in 1959, where she taught first grade and elementary physical education for 15 years. She attended night classes and summer school to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Bemidji State College in 1963. After her retirement in 1974, she was a substitute in area schools and worked with the Consumer Price Index. She was an active member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Sebeka and the Sebeka Legion and Wadena VFW Auxiliaries. She enjoyed participating in a retired teachers group, the Naughty Nibblers, and other coffee clubs. She delivered Meals on Wheels for 10 years. Frances was a skilled seamstress, cook, and gardener, sewing clothes for her daughters and herself, and growing most of her family’s food. She loved experimenting with varieties of flowers, fruits and vegetables and comparing notes with her gardening friends. She arranged family trips to state and national parks, and in later years, she and Albin spent two months each winter in Lake Worth, Florida. Frances and her husband visited all 50 states, including Hawaii, and made eight trips by pickup truck to Alaska. They also visited friends and relatives in Finland three times. Fran enjoyed reading, sewing gifts and cooking for friends and family, and puzzles of all kinds. Frances is survived by her daughters, Deborah Nikkari of Potsdam, NY and Mary (Dell) Bindewald of Little Falls, MN; four grandchildren, Albin Bindewald of Little Falls, MN, Eric McCluskey of Columbus, Ohio, Elise Bindewald of Reno, Nevada, and Rebekah McCluskey of Hsinchu City, Taiwan; one sister, Beatrice Paurus of Crystal, MN, and one brother, Milton Paurus of Staples, MN. She was preceded in death by her husband, Albin Nikkari, her parents, Valentin (Walter) and Lydia Paurus; and one sister, Elsie (Mrs. Howard Lillquist). Memorial Service will be held on Fran’s birthday, Thursday, April 15 at 1:00 PM at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Sebeka with Pastor Ben Carlsen officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the Church.