Marie Anne (Green) Hovland
MESA, AZ — Graveside service will be April 24, 1.30 p.m., at Hope Lutheran Cemetery in Minneota, MN. Fellowship and celebration of Marie’s life will be held at 2.30 – 5 p.m. at the Senior Center, Minneota, MN. Attendees are encouraged to wear a bright color to honor Marie’s love of painting. Senior Center doors will open at 2.30 p.m..
Marie’s life was filled with a great diversity of skills and talents. Among these were being a roller skater who danced on old time paired wheels, a self-taught prolific painter, a ceramist as well as ceramics business owner, crafter, a championship iris flower competitor, telephone switchboard operator, a homemaker, Sunday School teacher, a square dancer, and farmer’s wife with accounting accuity. Despite growing up in Marshall as a city girl, she proudly learned how to drive big farm machinery and large grain trucks. Marie made outstanding authentic Norwegian lefse as woman of German heritage — a skill of which she was very proud.
Marie and Dudley married in 1951 and had more than 60 years’ of wonderful life together in Massachusetts, Texas, and Minnesota.
Marie learned how to ride and show horses, then became adept as a horse show announcer, gaining quite a fan base when being hired to announce shows in both Minnesota and South Dakota for a number of years.
She did enormous research — without computers — on genealogy for both sides of the family trees, locating names and info as far back as pre-1677. It was a monumental legacy for her to happily present families with all her work and details.
Marie loved dancing most of her life and while deep into her 80’s was highly sought after as a dance partner at her Mesa, AZ retirement park. She also was a very popular “ringer” at Wii bowling and cornhole competitions as park teams vied for her throwing accuracy during tournaments, no matter her blindness. Marie also enjoyed line dancing. Despite these dance styles requiring vision, Marie boldly danced waltzes, polkas, schottisches, and line dancing with great joy.
Husband Dudley was the love of her life. Daughter Becky was her pride and joy. Grandsons Adam and Brennan were the stars in her universe. Nephew Bjorn was a bright light always. Son-in-law Brent Larson was the closest to a son she could ever have wanted.
Marie Ann (Green) Hovland, 96, formerly of Florence, Minneota, and Marshall, MN, died in Mesa, AZ on Feb 25, 2026 following long-term hospice care.
Marie is survived by Becky (AZ), Adam (PA), Brennan (OR), Bjorn Burgeson (AK), and Brent Larson (AZ).
Preceding her in death were father Alvin Green, mother Elsie Green, brother-in-law George Burgeson, sister Janice Burgeson, husband Dudley Hovland and many Green/Furhmann/Hovland relatives.
Arrangements with Horvath Funeral Service Minneota, Minnesota 507.872.6119 www.horvathfuneralservice.com