Willow Creek Cemetery
Gunil died on September 19, 1897 and was buried at Willow Creek on September 21.
When daughter Laura Amanda died on April 11th the following spring, the family was preparing to move to Minnesota. She was buried the next day, on April 12, 1897.
George Carlton (1) died on March 20, 1900. His funeral was held at Poplar River outside Fosston, Minnesota on March 26. His body was shipped by rail back to North Dakota where he was buried with his mother and sister at Willow Creek.
There were no markers on their graves. In 2015 great-granddaughter Alene Anne (Grover) Sladky and granddaughter-in-law Jane Bekkerus funded placement of a marker for Gunil, Amanda, and George. The stone was placed listing Gunil in the middle, with her two children on either side. Cemetery records indicated the location of the plot, but there was no record of which family member was buried in which grave. The words "Beloved Mother" were placed in honor of Gunil's daughter Sophie, who made sure that Gunil's grandchildren and great-grandchildren remembered Gunil, whom Sophie loved so dearly.
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Willow Creek Cemetery is located about one mile west of Overly ND. The Hegland plot is located toward the front of the cemetery, to the right of the entrance. |