Hjordis Pedersen

1/12/1922 – 9/10/2010
Hjordis Vera Pedersen, age 88 of Bellingham, passed away September 10, 2010.
Hjordis was born January 12, 1922 in Oslo, Norway and the family immigrated to Canada when she was 3 years old and settled in St. Catherines.  A few years later the family immigrated to the United States, and moved to Brooklyn, NY in the Red Hook section.  Her job was to take the wagon each day to find wood and coal for fuel to cook the evening meal.  Hjordis was one of seven children; Synove Burglar, Pauline Stimac, Chris Patterson, Fanny Hamilton, Solveig Lasky, and Mary Morgan.
She married Sverre Pedersen, a tool & die maker, at age 22.  Sverre was 54, and he encouraged her to become a naturalized citizen.  They lived near Sunset Park in Brooklyn.  She worked the night shift in the food processing plant on 1st Ave, and later with A&S Department Store as a saleswoman earning many rewards for excellent customer service.  To have work closer to home she went to hair dressing school and worked in a local beauty salon.
Sverre passed away in 1967 at age 76 and Hjordis grieved over her loss.  She later fell in love with Eddie Pedersen, (Sverre’s son), and was married in Manhattan at a Civil Ceremony in 1968. She worked for Morgan Guarantee Bank in the accounting department and enjoyed this job very much.
After Eddie retired from the merchant marines in 1970, they traveled by car around the US, finally finding a home in Bellingham, WA where they lived for 31 years, until Eddie passed away at age 81. Hjordis worked at the fish cannery and Eddie at the local jail, making many friends with neighbors and through their work.
Hjordis sold her home at 1212 Newton St. and came to live with Ed & Eileen in Greer, SC for 3 years where she helped create a beautiful backyard park for her daily walks.  Ed’s job changed & they moved to Cincinnati, OH. After 6 months, she missed Bellingham weather, food and friends like Janet & Greg Sutter and Peter & Ann Peterson, along with many, many others; she relocated back home.
Hjordis has lived in several places these past three years, and found comfort at Fairhaven Estates assisted living home.  Theresa, Vicki, and many others helped Hjordis adapt and cope with daily life as she reached her 88th year of life.  She was honest & hardworking and gave her son Edward the qualities to govern his life.  She has done without so others may prosper. She has given warmth and friendship wherever she went.  She could be demanding to others and especially to the ones close to her.
Hjordis liked gardening, growing vegetables & flowers, having coffee with neighbors, playing pinochle, Sverre & Eddie’s cooking, crab legs, sitting on the back porch, walking in the woods, making friends at work, visiting the Bellingham shore, shops, coastal areas, the beach, traveling, and arguing politics with Eddie.  She disliked packing suitcases, losing things, people who took advantage of others, TV controls that didn’t work, cold soup or coffee, dirt inside the house, and strange smells.
She will be remembered as a person who touched the lives of others in a positive way offering encouragement, good humor and heartfelt friendship.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Eddie Pedersen.  Hjordis is survived by her son Ed (Eileen) Pedersen of Cincinnati, OH; grandchildren Kerri (Phil) Peloquin of Milton, MA, Erik (Julie) Pedersen of Portland, OR, and Kristen Pedersen of Portland, OR; great-grandchildren Oskar, Tait, Jack, and Kate; and numerous nieces and nephews from Canada and the United States.  A Memorial Service will be held at Westford Funeral Home on Sunday, September 12 at 11 AM.