Notes for: Francis ("Frank") Patrick Bodine
I have an interesting story about Frank from the Velva Journal, Velva, ND.
From Ronny Bodine:
From North Dakota Federal Census Records:
Francis Bodine lived 1910-1930 in Voltaire, McHenry County, North Dakota engaged in farming.
1940 (22 April) Voltaire Twp., McHenry Co.: BODINE, Francis 58 SD Farmer, Elisebeth 43 Poland wife, Luella 22 ND dau Teacher, Francis 19 ND son, Janet 17 ND dau, Paul 16 ND son, Delores 15 ND dau, Loretta 13 ND dau, Charles 11 ND son, John 9 ND son, Mark 7 ND son, Monica 7 ND dau, Audrey 6 ND dau, Patricia 4 ND dau, Robert 2 ND son, Ronald 2 ND son, Gerald 0 ND son.
From North Dakota Death Records:
Francis P. Bodine, 88, of McHenry County, born Feb 1882, died 11 Jan 1971 in Ward County.
Elizabeth Bodine, 88, of McHenry County, born 25 Feb 1898, died 3 July 1986 in Burleigh County.
Obituary, The Bismarck (ND) Tribune of Wed., 13 Jan 1971.
VELVA (AP)---Francis P. Bodine, 88, who with his wife reared a family of 18 children on the farm he homesteaded near here, died Monday in a Minot hospital. Mr. Bodine's funeral will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. in St. Cecelia's Catholic Church here, of which he was a long time member. The Velva couple's 18 children all attended institutions of higher learning with many of them attaining graduate level degrees. At Minot State College, there was a Bodine enrolled for 26 years and 19 summer sessions, prompting the North Dakota Board of Higher Education to pay special tribute to the parents in 1965. Frank and his wife Elizabeth had made it their goal to educate their family. They had been able to only go as far as the eighth grade. Mr. Bodine put it this way in an interview in 1968: "You know, a lot of people would tell us, "you can't educate 18 children...we made the resolution that if they wanted to go to college they got the chance." After the death of his father Mr. Bodine moved by covered wagon to Freeborn County, Minn. In 1905, Frank moved to North Dakota. In 1905, he bought a relinquishment that was part of the eventual 800-acre Bodine farm southeast of Voltaire, acquiring the complete farm in about 1906. In addition to the 18 children, he is survived by close to 100 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Obituary, The Bimarck (ND) Tribune of Wed., 9 July 1986.
VELVA---Elizabeth Bodine, 88, Velva, American Mother of the Year in 1968 and recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award in 1979, died July 3, 1986, at a Bismarck hospital. Services and burial were held Monday in Velva. She was selected North Dakota State Mother of the Year the same year she received the national title. She and her husband, who were the parents of 18 children, were honored by the N.D. Education Association. All of their children attended institions of higher learning. She was active in the church, the Voltaire Homemakers and the Parent-Teacher Association.
Elizabeth Grossman was born Feb. 25, 1898, in Helenfeld, Poland. In 1912, the family came to the United States and settled in the Anamoose area. She married Francis Bodine, Jan. 10, 1917, in Anamoose. They farmed near Voltaire until 1956, when they moved into Velva. He died in 1971. She remained in Velva until moving to St. Vincent's Nursing Home, Bismarck, a year ago. She is survived by 10 sons, Francis, Edina, Minn., Paul, Minot, Charles and Mark, both of Yarnell, Ariz., John, Barnesville, Minn., Ronald, Fargo, Robert, Pickens, S.C., Gerald, Hazen, Dale, Grand Forks, and William, Ennis, Mont.; seven daughters, Luella Fix, Harvey, Jenette Warlick, Claremont, Calif., Delores Bernards, St. Paul, Minn., Loretta Efferts, Velva, Monica Goetze, Eugene, Ore., Audrey McLaughlin, Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Sister Bernadette, Richardton; one brother, Henry, San Antonio, Texas; four sisters, Helen Schmidt and Ann Honer, both of Harvey, Kathryn Erdmann, Bloomington, Minn., and Barbara Stevens, Pine City, Minn.; 99 grandchildren; 72 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren. (Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot)
Burials in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Velva, McHenry County, North Dakota.
(For grave marker photo see Find A Grave Memorial No. 19264036)
BODINE Francis P. 1882 1971 Elizabeth 1898 1986