Lorraine G. Johnson Fredrikson, age 98, passed away on January 6, 2017, at United Living Community in Brookings, SD. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at Ascension Lutheran Church in Brookings, SD. Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings.

Lorraine was born on July 15, 1918 to Herman and Hertha Johnson in Sioux County, IA. She attended rural schools in Sioux County and town school in Hudson, SD, where she graduated as salutatorian of her high school class in 1936. After completing Mitchell Business College in Mitchell, SD in 1938, she worked for the Unemployment Compensation Commission in Aberdeen, SD, the War Department in Washington, D.C., and the Office of War Information in Washington, D.C. and Honolulu, Hawaii. She met her husband, Jacob, as both were growing up in the Hudson area. Because he attended the Aggie high school in Brookings, they lost touch until he was stationed on the east coast and contacted her at the suggestion of her sister. She sailed across the Pacific Ocean after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to begin her job with the OWI. Jacob was then stationed there and they were married in Hawaii in 1944. After WWII, they returned to the Hudson area where they started their family of five children. In 1958, they moved to Brookings and Lorraine worked at South Dakota State University until Jacob finished his college education in 1960. Jacob then managed the Southeast South Dakota Experiment Station near Beresford and Centerville. Lorraine worked at the University of South Dakota and was involved with church, school, and community activities. In 1972 they returned to Brookings and worked at SDSU. Lorraine worked in ag engineering, electrical engineering, and various offices in the administration building before her retirement in 1988. Having worked hard to help her children and husband obtain their degrees, Lorraine reached her goal of earning her bachelor's degree in 1985 with majors in commercial economics and German.

Not wanting to be defined by her age, she continued to pursue her desire to learn through reading on topics of interest including politics, finance, religion, and social issues well into her 90s. While she enjoyed retirement, she was the consummate worker and took an active role in her church and community groups, including church circle, VFW Auxiliary, Sons of Norway, and the Brookings Hospital Auxiliary. She believed strongly in the importance of giving of herself to make the lives of others and the community better.

Her family continued to be her special interest and she traveled to visit them whenever possible. Other interests through the years included caring for her house and garden, travel, computer work, knitting and other handwork, golf, and cross country skiing. She never lost her love of working with numbers and was proud of the certification she earned as a Professional Secretary. She was fiercely independent and remained in her home until recently. She will be remembered for her adventurous and youthful spirit, her kindness, and her beautiful smile.

Lorraine is survived by her children, Carol Pearson (John) of Brownsburg, IN; Gene (Nancy) of Brookings; David (Linda) of DeSoto, TX; Susan of Brookings; Donna Hedlund (Mark) of Prior Lake, MN; eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren, Lisa (Todd, Vivienne), Tamara, Deb (Lew, Deelia, Drey), Aaron (Linsay, Sabrah, Ada), Mindy (Dan), Jim (Laurel), Rebecca (Ryan, Kylee), Dana; her sister, Marge Dagle, sister-in-law Sally Escher, brother-in-law, Dave Larson, and numerous nieces and nephews and their families. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, brother, Hubert, sisters- and brothers-in-law.