Edith Bohan

Edith Jean Bohan, 97, died November 2, 2011, at Luther Memorial Home in Madelia. The daughter of John and Ida Norton of Frost, Minnesota, she was born February 19, 1914, and was baptized and confirmed at Bethany Lutheran Church. Her parents were both immigrants from Norway and, consequently, Edith spoke only Norwegian until she began school. After graduating in 1928 from Frost High School, where she won prizes for track events, bread baking, and embroidery, she attended the University of Minnesota Farm School. To support herself during the Depression, Edith became a hairdresser in Minneapolis after graduating from Paul's Academy of Hairdressing. She moved to Oakland, CA and worked at the salon in the prestigious Claremont Hotel. She later moved to Los Angeles, where she worked for a number of years in a Hollywood salon frequented by movie stars. In the mid-1940s Edith returned to Minneapolis, where she opened her own shop, Miss Modern, on Nicollet Avenue. Benefitting from Edith's Hollywood aura, her business thrived. On November 5, 1947, Edith was united in marriage to Clarence "Doc" Bohan, D.V.M., at Mount Olivet Church in Minneapolis by Reverend Rueben Youngdahl. After a winter in northern Minnesota, where Doc tested cattle, the couple moved to Madelia and made it their home for the remainder of their lives. While raising two children, she helped in the veterinary clinic, located in the basement of the family home. Edith was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church and Rachel Circle. She taught Sunday School for fifteen years and was a Luther Memorial Home volunteer. She served as First Lady of Madelia for the fifteen years that her husband was mayor. Edith's hobbies included gardening, baking, quilting, and embroidering. She enjoyed traveling and twice visited relatives in Norway. After Doc retired, he and Edith often drove to Florida or the Southwestern United States during the winter. In 1996, Edith moved into Luther Memorial Home with her husband, who passed away the following year. While diminished by a failing memory in her later years, she maintained a sweet and loving disposition. Edith is survived by her daughter Vicki Bohan and her husband, Richard Havens, of Lincoln, CA; daughter Becky Bohan and her wife, Nancy Manahan, of Minneapolis; grandson Scott Havens of Boise, ID; and stepchildren Jack Bohan and Deanne Bohan, San Jose, CA. She was preceded in death by three sisters and four brothers.