Colene Forsberg

 Colene Marie Forsberg of Hastings, MN and Pharr, TX passed away suddenly but peacefully on January 15, 2025, in McAllen, TX, with her husband and daughter, Nicole by her side. 

 Colene was born in Langdon, ND, on August 27, 1945, to Harold and Lauretta (Larry / Reed) Wenzel, the second oldest of six children. She graduated from Langdon High School in 1963 where she was homecoming queen her senior year. In the fall of 1963, she moved to Minneapolis and started nurses training at Lutheran Deaconess Hospital, where she graduated in 1966. From June through December she spent time at a small mission hospital in Espanola, NM.

 During her time at Deaconess she met Doug Forsberg through mutual friends. Their first date was Jan. 19, 1965. On June 17, 1967, she married Doug at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. They moved to Mankato, MN, for two years so Doug could complete college. She worked as a nurse at St. Joseph Hospital and then at a local nursing home while they resided in Mankato. They moved back to Minneapolis in 1970 where she returned to Deaconess Hospital working in the Coronary Care and ICU units. Later she moved on to Fairview Hospital in Edina and continued to work in Coronary Care. She retired from United Health Care in 2002 after working there about 15 years but did occasional home health care nursing after retirement. During her early retirement she and Doug spent several winters in Mazatlán, Mexico, and the last 15 years her winters have been in Pharr, TX, in the Rio Grande Valley.

 She was blessed with three children: Todd, Nicole and Chad. With the first two children, the family moved to Lakeville, MN, in January of 1974. Then Chad was born in 1975. In 1981 she was blessed again when three siblings from Cambodia, Huong, Lang and An joined their family. She loved spending time with her grandchildren as they were growing up. There were many trips to Potato Lake, a timeshare in Park Rapids and many boating adventures on the St. Croix River. Grandma Colene could always be counted on for Saturday nights filled with games, nail painting and movies with pop and endless popcorn.

 Colene loved spending time at her church, Berean Baptist in Burnsville, with all the friends she made over many years. She was also passionate about volunteering at Children’s Haven International, a home for neglected and abandoned children in Reynosa, Mexico. She spent many leisurely hours crocheting potholders and baby blankets with the Crocheting and Knitting Club in Pharr South Park. 

 She will be dearly missed by her loving husband, Doug Forsberg, of TX and MN; children: Todd (Eunjoo) Forsberg of Round Lake, IL, Nicole (Paul) Broberg of Minneapolis, Chad Forsberg of Sparta, WI, Huong (Di Chau) Huot of Eden Prairie, Lang Huot of Chanhassen and An Huot of Seattle, WA; grandchildren: Kyle and Mandy Forsberg, Sam, Sydney and Ella Broberg, Saphire and Io Forsberg, Anthony, Amanda, Stephanie, Samantha and Kayla Huot; one great-grandchild, Kalliyan; sisters: Karen Kloster of Yutan, NE, and Renee Rohman of Wahpeton, ND; and many nieces, nephews, in-laws, cousin in-laws and many close friends.

 Colene was preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Lauretta(Larry)Wenzel; sister Gayle Knecht, and brothers Bruce and Curtis Wenzel.

 A memorial service will be held at Berean Baptist Church in Burnsville, MN, this summer.