Myrtle Golden

Myrtle Golden, 95 of Bristol died on Tuesday, August 04, 2015 at Sanford Hospital in Webster. Her funeral will be at 2:00 P.M. Friday, August 7, 2015 at Westside Wesleyan Church in Bristol, Rev. Lynn Lutz will officiate. Burial will be in the Bristol Cemetery. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Thursday, 5-7 P.M. ending with a 7 P.M. prayer service. Visitation will resume at the church on Friday. Myrtle Victoria Johnson was born on January 12, 1920, on the family farm northwest of Webster to George Johnson and Rosie (Rydberg) Johnson. She was confirmed at New Sweden Lutheran Church by New Sweden Cemetery north of Holmquist, and she attended rural school at the country school north of Holmquist. She took music correspondence classes and learned to play the piano. When she was 16, George and Rosie moved their family to Bristol. They attended the Holiness Methodist Church in Bristol, where Myrtle was a charter member. It was here where she met the love of her life, Vern Golden. Myrtle took the train from South Dakota to California where she married Vern Dewey Golden on March 29, 1942, in Glendale, California. They both worked at Vega Aircraft plant in Burbank, California. until Vern was drafted into the Army in 1943. He was stationed in Hawaii. She worked for a short period of time in Minneapolis as a maid, and also as a seamstress at Strutwear. Myrtle returned to Bristol to live with her parents until Vern's return from the service in 1946. Vern re-enlisted in the Reserves, and during the Korean War he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. Myrtle and their firstborn son, Loren, lived in Washington during this time. After Vern's discharge from the Army, the couple returned to the Holmquist area where they were engaged in farming until they retired and moved to Bristol in 1987. Vern passed away in June of 1995. After his death, Myrtle continued to live in their home in Bristol. To pass the time, Myrtle sewed dozens and dozens of infants' garments for "Sew Special," an organization whose members sewed clothing for babies who were too premature to fit into store-bought preemie clothing. She also sewed baptismal gowns, and funeral garments for infants who were stillborn or who died shortly after birth. These preemie, baptismal, and funeral garments were delivered to hospitals in the Twin Cities and Sioux Falls. Myrtle was a resident of Sun Dial Nursing Home in Bristol from April 10, 2008 to May 18, 2008. She entered Sun Dial again in October of 2011 for seven months, after a bout of bronchitis. She enjoyed telling people that she "escaped" from the nursing home twice! She then lived with her children until returning to Sun Dial on November 7, 2013, after suffering a massive heart attack. One of Myrtle's favorite sayings was: "Gettin' old ain't for sissies!" She suffered a second heart attack in early August, and was hospitalized in Sanford Hospital in Webster. She took her last breath at 4 p.m. on August 4, 2015 surrounded by her family and friends. Myrtle was a faithful member of the Westside Wesleyan Church. She had been the church organist for over 40 years, and was active in the Women's Circle for most of those years. Myrtle loved music, playing her organ, sewing and crafts, crocheting, all kinds of flowers, tapioca pudding, chocolate, and all things purple. After moving to Bristol, she looked forward to going quilting on Monday afternoons at the Lutheran Church making World Relief quilts. She was an excellent seamstress, and throughout her life, she helped many people in the area with mending and alterations. She enjoyed playing Rummikub and Skip-Bo. She loved her Lord, her family and friends, and was known for her quiet gentle spirit of servanthood, and her infinite patience. Myrtle passed into eternity on August 4, 2015, in Webster, South Dakota, at the age of 95 years, six months and 23 days. Grateful for having shared her life are her son, Loren (Diane) Golden of Webster, SD; her daughter, Karen (Warner) Armstrong of Watertown, SD; granddaughters Angela (Paul) Rasmussen of Atwater, MN; Deidra (Joe) Zubke of Bristol, SD; and Stacey Jaragoske of Brookings, SD; and eight great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her brother Marvin, and one grandson, Grant Golden.