Ardella M. Strand, age 87 of Bartlesville, OK, formerly of Underwood & Werner, ND, died November 10, 2009 at a Bartlesville care center.

Visitation will be held from 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM CST Saturday at Goetz Funeral Home in Underwood.

A graveside service will be held 1:00 MST Saturday, Nov. 14 at Werner Cemetery of rural Halliday, ND.

Ardella was born May 26, 1922, on the family homestead north of Werner, ND, to Joseph L. and Stella A. (Hennemann) Bessaw. After graduating from Werner High School, she attended Dickinson State Teachers College and taught at several rural one-room schools in Dunn, Stark and McLean counties.
On August 29, 1943, Ardella married Arthur E. Strand at Werner. Following Art's discharge from the US Army, they moved to Riverdale, ND, where they lived for ten years. From 1956 to 1974, they lived in the southern and eastern United States, returning to Werner in 1974. Ardella was an avid reader, a life-long member of the Democratic Party, and loved her home state of North Dakota.

Ardella is survived by her daughter, JoAnn Payne, Bartlesville, OK; one sister, Mary Jane Miller, Underwood ND; one sister-in-law, Florence (John) Bessaw, Herlong, CA; several nieces and one nephew.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, five sisters and her brother.

The family has requested that those wishing to remember Ardella make memorial contributions to the Underwood Senior Center or the Underwood Ambulance Service.