Holland, Alice Lavon (Kvanli) of Anoka, passed away September 4, 2023 at the age of 91.

Alice was born near Montevideo, MN to Jacob and Irene Kvanli and raised on a farm in Chippewa County. For eight years she attended a one-room schoolhouse in Rosewood Township and graduated from Montevideo High School in 1949. Shortly thereafter, she borrowed $700 and boarded a Greyhound bus to attend college in Aberdeen, SD. After completing her studies, she was offered a teaching position at a one-room schoolhouse in Pierpont, SD. The windows of the school needed repairs so the district hired an enterprising local bachelor farmer named Earl Holland to fix them. It was love at first sight and Alice and Earl married on June 18, 1950.

They farmed for a few years outside of Webster, SD, where their first child, David, was born in 1952. Shortly thereafter, the farm was hit hard by hail and the family decided to move to Anoka, MN, where Earl had been offered the position of Maintenance Specialist for ISD District #11. Alice and Earl became very active in the Anoka community. Alice took pictures of kids with Santa on her Polaroid, sewed curtains for Thurston Furniture, and worked as a teacher’s aid for District #11.

A turning point in Alice’s life was the birth of her daughter Randi in 1957, which took place in a house that had been converted into a makeshift medical facility known as the Anoka Hospital.  Alice turned that negative experience into something positive for generations to come: she became a founding member of the Auxiliary which would eventually raise the funds to start what is now known as Mercy Hospital.

After the hospital opened in 1965, Alice greeted and directed patients at the information desk, coordinated volunteers, knit Christmas stockings for every December newborn, and sewed Kathy Caps for cancer patients. During her tenure as President of the Mercy Auxiliary Alice led the way in promoting health and welfare in the community.

Governor Rudy Perpich and President Reagan both honored her for her 13,000-plus hours of volunteering for the hospital.

In her spare moments, she sewed beautiful clothes for herself and others, often winning top ribbons at county and state fairs in the Midwest.

She was active with Sons of Norway and enjoyed visiting with relatives here and while traveling abroad, as well as hosting travelers from Norway in her home.

She was also faithful to her quilting circle at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Anoka, of which she and Earl were lifelong members, giving generously of her time and talents. Alice loved her books, her gardens, garage saling, classical music, and anything Norwegian. She was as much an expert at telling “Ole and Lena” jokes as she was at making krumkake and lefse. She also had a talent for saying the right thing when you needing lifting up, a wonderful sense of humor, and she never let you leave her home hungry or empty-handed. As much as life threw at her, she knew that “this too shall pass,” which she repeated often. She will be dearly missed, though those of us she leaves behind are comforted knowing she has been reunited with Earl and Randi.

Alice was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Vernon; daughter, Randi; and beloved husband, Earl.

Survived by son, Dave (Sue); granddaughter, Alyssa (Kevin); two great-grandsons (Graham and Will); two brothers, Arlen and Dale; several nieces and nephews; and many, many friends.

Visitation and funeral will take place on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, 700 Western Street in Anoka, MN, with visitation beginning at 10:00 AM. Funeral Service will begin at 11:00 AM. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Make Your Dreams Come True Fund at Benedictine Living Community in Anoka. Special thanks to the staff at Benedictine and Hospice of the Midwest. May those of you reading this experience the same joy Alice did during a lifetime of helping others.