Alanna Strand passed away Wednesday, November 7, 2018, with her husband, daughter, and son at her side after a long, 10+ year battle with cancer.
Alanna was born December 20, 1947, to Elmer and Cordilia Dahlgren in Grand Rapids, MN. She lived in Grand Rapids, MN, through her teens, until she married the love of her life, Robert W. Strand. She knew he was the one quickly after they first started dating.
Alanna embarked on a life as a wife and mother in the military for the next 30 years. During this time, she gave birth to two children, saw her husband leave and come back from Vietnam and Korea, and lived and traveled all over Europe and the United States. She mostly spent time in Germany and made the occasional trip to Spain. While in Germany, she enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, and her Friday night dinner dates with her husband, Robert. She also worked to help support her family, and it was something for her to do once her kids started going to school full time. As a spouse with her husband, two children, and her beloved dachshunds in the Army, she was required, willing, and loved to be both mother, father, best friend, and/or any other role needed to support her husband and kids. Times were not always easy, but she did so graciously and always without complaint. For this, we always saw her as an extraordinary woman, mother, and grandmother. Words cannot express her devotion, love, and sacrifices for her family and friends. She was our "supermom."
Upon her husband, Robert, retiring from the Army in 1989, they settled in Lacey, WA. Alanna continued to work as a manager in multiple dry-cleaning businesses. She was at her daughter's side during the birth of her first grandchild, saw her son graduate college, and delivered her first and only litter of puppies. All the while, she stayed true to who she was and always had been; a wonderful wife, fantastic mother, and our best friend.
They stayed in Washington for 10+ years before they decided to retire to Herreid, SD. We kid, but we think the Pacific Northwest moss and pine needles got to be too much for her. This has since become a family joke we all laugh about to this day. While in Herreid, as usual, she could not sit still and decided to work an additional 5+ years at the Herreid Kindergarten through 12 school in town. Kids that are now grown would still come up to her and ask if she remembered them. She would say, "Of course," and say their name.
Once finally and fully retired, Alanna and Robert packed up their motor home and spent the better part of most winters in Florida and would come back to Herreid in the spring and summer. This lasted until she got sick. While in Florida, they spent most of their time playing golf, visiting family, and spending happy hour with their friends in the park. On their return home to Herreid, they would often detour and visit family in Minnesota, California, and Washington State.
Alanna was the backbone of the family. She was what held us together and would make sure everything is in place and that everyone's lives were in order. She would do anything and everything for you. Alanna loved her dogs, home, travel, cooking, crafts, crocheting, and painting, and excelled at them all.
Alanna is survived by her husband of 54 years, Robert Strand, Herreid, SD; daughter, Dena Strand, Sturgis, SD; son, Brad Strand, Centralia, WA; daughter-in-law, Amy Althauser, Centralia, WA; grandson, Marcus (Deano) Iverson, Olathe, KS; granddaughter, Misty Iverson, Olathe, KS; granddaughter, Camryn Althauser, Centralia, WA; great-granddaughter, Jesslyn Iverson, Olathe, KS; great-granddaughter, Zoey Iverson, Olathe, KS; sister, Marilyn Hahne, Grand Rapids, MN; and sister, Gayle Nelson, Hermantown, MN.
Our mom's details, achievements, traits, values, and lasting impressions cannot be simply written in a few paragraphs or pages. She deserves more for who she is and what she means to us. She deserves to be memorialized in a way that does justice to her life and legacy. She is and means so much more to all of us. Mom, we love you. We will never forget. We will carry you with us to the end.
Private family committal services for both Alanna and Robert will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2020, at Black Hills National Cemetery, with military honors taking place for Robert.

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