Florence Laverne (Gajewski) Briggs

Florence LaVerne (Gajewski) Briggs was born on August 28, 1924 to Edward and Edith (Czarnetski) Gajewski who farmed near Alexander, N.Dak. She was the oldest of four daughters. Dorothy (Gerald) King lives in Salem, Ore., Carolyn (Ronald) Timmreck lives in Williston, N.Dak., and Viva (Jack) Bush resides in Wasilla, Alaska.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Charles F. Briggs, who died on November 16, 2009. They had been living with their daughter, Cheryl Dailey, in La Crescent, Minn., since 2002, however, Florence had been residing at Golden Living Center in La Crescent for the past year and a half.

Prior to her marriage to Charlie on July 31, 1945, she spent time in Seattle, Wash., where she worked for Boeing Aircraft as a Rosie the Riveter. Shortly after their marriage, they lived briefly in Inverness, Calif., where Charlie was in the Air Force. After his discharge, they moved to Alexander, N.Dak., where Charlie took up barbering. They moved to Williston, N.Dak., in 1953, where they lived until 2002. While in Williston, Florence worked at J.C. Penney in the fabric department and also at Good Samaritan Hospital as a nurses aide.

Florence is survived by three daughters, Cheryl Dailey of La Crescent, Minn., Jeannie Briggs of Billings, Mont., and Shelley Briggs of Goodyear, Ariz. Florence is also the grandmother of nine grandchildren, six great grandchildren, and one great, great granddaughter. The couple dedicated their lives to the Lord and took great delight in teaching their girls, The Briggs Sisters, to sing harmony and gave them a love of gospel music. They were active in the Lutheran Brethren Fellowship Church in Williston, where they enjoyed performing and traveling with the Musical Messengers.

Florence was an excellent cook and baker and for several years provided home baked pies for several local restaurants. She also loved to crochet and would create masterpieces so intricate and so quickly that Charlie nicknamed her The Spider.

Florence went peacefully to be with the Lord on Monday, July 15, 2013. Her girls blessed the memory of their mother and dad and the Godly heritage they were given throughout their lives.