Tordis "Tordie" Combs

Our beloved mother and friend Tordis (Tordie) Combs passed away Sunday night at the age of 93. She was such a joy to all who knew her, charming, funny, and always seeking to care for those around her. She will be sorely missed by us all.

Tordis (Stokkeland) Combs was born in 1929 at her parents' home in Brusand, a tiny town in the south of Norway. The family soon moved to the slightly larger township of Hellvik, where Tordis spent the entirety of her youth. She was the fourth in a family of seven children, three older sisters on one side, two younger brothers and a baby sister on the other. The onset of the Second World War and the German invasion of Norway put a hold on their idyllic childhood. The family spent five years of hardship and privation as the occupying forces actually commandeered their home and land for use as a Nazi military outpost. At the end of the conflict, as life was beginning a return to normalcy for the Stokkeland family, an uncle who had emigrated to America back in 1906 made his first return visit to his homeland. An offer of sponsorship and transportation to the United States was eagerly accepted by Tordis, and in January of 1951 she embarked on the adventure of a lifetime, sailing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary and arriving in New York City, knowing no English and but a handful of people, not quite twenty-three years of age. Tordis worked a summer job as a domestic in Camden, Maine, before finding her way to Cooperstown, North Dakota, where her uncle resided. Still working on her English, she found employment at the tiny hospital there. A local farmer named James Combs was under her care, and so thoroughly charmed was he by this lovely young lady that he insisted she meet his son Don. And so history was made, Tordis' plans to return to Norway were put on hold, and the pair were married on Christmas Eve of 1953.

After Don's discharge from the Navy, the next few years were spent in Fargo, as the couple's first two children were born and Don worked toward his engineering degree at the University of North Dakota. A job offer for Don "out west" marked the beginning of yet another adventure for Tordis, as the family began a new life in Idaho Falls, Idaho and another child entered the family. She had been working as a nurse during this entire time, but did not yet hold a degree; so in 1964 she began a two-year course of study at Ricks College, receiving her associate's degree and embarking on a long career in every phase of the profession. She was also invited to join the nursing faculty at Ricks, where she served as a valued instructor for almost a decade. Eventually the college imposed a degree requirement on their instructors; undaunted, Tordis resigned from the faculty and enrolled in a full-time bachelor's degree program at the University of Utah Provo campus, studying during the week and driving back to Idaho Falls every weekend. She received her Bachelor of Nursing degree in 1981 after only a year of coursework. After a brief stint as a nursing home supervisor, she entered yet another phase of her career as an industrial nurse for the Naval Reactors Facility at the I.N.E.L. Tordis found great rewards over a decade of caring for her fellow employees, and a great number of lasting friendships was one of those rewards.

Upon her retirement from the full-time occupation of nursing, and with the now-grown children married and living their own lives, Tordis and Don moved to their new home in Victor, Idaho - an underground house built into the side of a mountain, which was named "Trollhaugen" in honor of Tordis' heritage. Although she was officially retired from nursing, she was by no means tired of nursing, and signed on for two medical missions to Honduras as an outlet for her caring skills. Although Tordis had few traditional hobbies (she did love her crossword puzzles, although they were usually a team effort) she was at her core a "people person", and her gift for hospitality found any number of ways in which to manifest itself. Both in her own home and in the context of the legendary Sons of Norway gatherings which were so important to her and Don, she had a knack for making people feel at home while stuffing them to the gills with delicious food lovingly prepared.

From her early childhood Tordis embraced her faith in God, giving herself to His will and trusting in His love; indeed, there were many life-threatening experiences in her many years from which she was delivered in ways which can only be described as miraculous. She worshipped with her family at First Lutheran Church during her years in Idaho Falls, actively involving herself with as many of the important social aspects of the congregation as she could, including the choir and altar guild. Although she had no musical training, she loved to sing and participated in the annual performance of Handel's "Messiah" along with her husband and, eventually, a couple of her children as well.

Tordis' final years were beset by the gradual onset of dementia, and a medical emergency in 2016 necessitated her moving from Victor back to Idaho Falls where she could receive the appropriate level of care. Her final place of residence was the memory care unit at Lincoln Court, where she was beloved by staff, residents, and visitors alike. Even in her gradually diminishing capacity Tordis continued to share her love of life with anyone she would encounter. After a lifetime of service to the greater good, her only request on her own behalf was to pass peacefully in her sleep, and so she did on the evening of April 2, in the company of her older son David and his wife Kristi.

Tordis was preceded in death by her father Lars, her mother Rakel, her two brothers Ole and Tore, and her four sisters Solveig, Judith, Lilli and Reidun; her husband Donald and her daughter Valerie. 

She is survived by her two sons David and Allen, and by five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The family would like to take this opportunity to thank the excellent staff of Lincoln Court as well as Symbii hospice. During all the years of Tordis' residency, she was treated with dignity and respect, and it was gratifying to see her receive the same expert level of care which she herself had embodied throughout her long life.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday July 22, 2023, at First Evangelical Lutheran Church (455 W. Sunnyside). The family will visit with friends at 10:30 prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Ski for Light (sfl.org), the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org), or any other worthy charity.