VICTORIA T WAKEFIELD

Victoria Tressa (Hoffman) Wakefield, 97, of Devils Lake ND died at home on September 5th, 2014 surrounded by her family. Victoria was born July 7, 1917 in Stanley, Wisconsin to parents Catherine (Harding) a seamstress and Charles William Hoffman, a band director and cigar manufacturer. Vic attended St. Anne’s Elementary School and graduated from Stanley High School in 1935. Vic then began training as a teacher earning her Normal school certificate. In 1936, Vic worked as a practical nurse and met her future husband Daniel Louis Wakefield (teacher and aviator) when he was a patient at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Between 1937 and 1941, Vic taught in rural one room schools in Stone Lake, Holcombe, Boyd, and Cadott, Wisconsin. In 1940, she earned her diploma from Eau Claire Wisconsin Teachers College, completing her two year coursework over five years of summer school. Dan and Victoria were married November 1, 1941 at St. Francis Church, Reserve, Wisconsin. Dan’s work as an aviation instructor, training military flying cadets during World War II, took them to North St. Paul MN, Menominee, Eau Claire, and Rice Lake, Wisconsin. In 1946, with their first four children, they left a well- established aviation school in Amery, Wisconsin. He accepted the position of airport manager with Lake Region Flying Service at Bell Airport in Devils Lake. Four more children were born and raised in Devils Lake. Vic continued her education, graduating with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire in 1969, with certification in special and elementary education followed by graduate studies at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. In addition to pursuing her college degree over the summers, Vic taught at schools in the Devils Lake area including St. Joseph School and the Devils Lake Public School. She taught in the Head Start program in Tokio, ND and also in the Ft. Totten Community and Four Winds Schools. In recognition of her service, the St. Michael’s Sioux Tribe community gave her the name Wicanhpi Skana meaning “White Star”. Vic served as a substitute teacher well into her 70’s whenever schools needed a teacher on short notice. She was an educator at heart and loved teaching, whether she was in a classroom with children or gently correcting the grammar of her adult children in her living room. Over the years, she taught hundreds of children with encouragement, patience and kindness. She had a special love of art and she often took classes, which she used in unique ways in her personal life and in her teaching. She returned to the classroom one last time at the age of 93 to read to first grade children who were being taught by her granddaughter. Her home was a gathering place for children growing up in the neighborhood and she treated everyone as extended family. Vic often brought children facing challenges in their own homes to her home for weekends. Her home could be chaotic because the doors were always open to anyone needing a place to stay, from pilots flying through the area, to children in the neighborhood, to college students who were family friends. Her generosity of spirit was vast and she took great joy in having people around her. The world that Dan and Vic created for their children centered around their home and their family aviation business, Wakefield Flight Service. While raising eight children, she supported her husband in his love of flying, and continued her own education. Vic was also active in her community. Over the decades she resided in Devils Lake, Vic served as den mother to Boy Scouts, and held officer positions in many civic and Catholic organizations including regional Vice President of The ARC of North Dakota, the local chapter of the American Association of University Women, the ND Federation of Women’s Clubs, St. Joseph’s Altar Society and as Grand Regent of the Devils Lake Catholic Daughters. She also held membership in Wisconsin and ND Teachers associations. Vic was preceded in death by her husband Dan, her brothers Charles, Wilbur, Henry and Herman and her sisters Loretta Hoffman and Mary Ann Craemer. Vic’s life was not without tragedy. In August 1966 a tornado destroyed their aviation business in the middle of the crop spraying season. When Vic was asked how their large family survived that experience, she responded ‘we just had to pick up the pieces and go on’. She was preceded in death by two beloved sons James (Jim) Daniel and Thomas (Tom) Joseph, both of whom died in separate accidents as well as two of her grandchildren Mikal and Nicole Wakefield. When Vic was awarded the Unsung Hero Award, she remarked that it was her son Tom who was the real hero as he risked his own life trying to rescue his brother Jim from a burning plane. When asked how she could manage through such heartache she would say “my faith and my family have brought me through”’. Vic is survived by four sons Robert (Shelly) Staten Island, NY, Richard (Aida) Grand Forks ND, William (Gayle), Devils Lake, Daniel, Devils Lake, and two daughters, Mary (Charles Christianson) Grand Forks, ND, and Jacqueline (Fritz Wonderlich) Twin Falls, ID and daughter-in-law Loydene Wakefield, Devils Lake. She is survived by 13 grandchildren, each of whom recount unique and beloved experiences of their grandmother’s humor and vivid story-telling and also survived by 10 great grandchildren. Victoria’s deep faith and her love of family provided her with joyous moments and also sustained her during unexpected and profound losses. Victoria left a written message to her children saying: Keep the faith for it shall be your strength when your burden is heavy. Victoria’s sons and daughters carry her in their hearts, even as she carried them through so much of their lives. In the last years of Vic’s life, where before she had given so much of herself to others, she came to rely on others for her care. The family wants to especially acknowledge the kindness and support extended to Vic by numerous care-givers, friends, and community members. At Victoria’s request, donations to St. Joseph Grade School are preferred or to a charity of choice. Mass of the Resurrection for Victoria will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Devils Lake with Very Reverend C.F. Wilhelm celebrating the Mass. Victoria will be laid to rest in St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Friday, September 12th from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. and then at St. Joseph Catholic Church from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with a Rosary and Scripture Service at 7:00 p.m. Visitation on Saturday will be at the church one hour prior to the funeral Mass. Friends may sign the online register book and share memories of Victoria at www.gilbertsonfuneralhome.com