Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Bea Skoglund never strayed too far from her home territory in Forest Lake. Born in the northwest corner of New Scandia Township, Skoglund, who died Tuesday, May 17 at age 86, spent her entire life in two places.

She grew up in a time when Forest Lake was a slow-paced town that was filled with summer tourists, said her son, Ken Skoglund.

His mother was a stay-at-home mom who took care of three boys, worked the family farm and helped with the familyís Bayview Inn business that sold gas, bait, groceries, snacks and ice, Ken Skoglund said.

Beatrice Mildred Swenson was born Sept. 29, 1918 and grew up on a family farm in Scandia. Her parents were descendents of early pioneers in the Scandia and Forest Lake areas.

She attended a rural school in Scandia before attending Forest Lake High School where she graduated in 1937. On Feb. 11, 1939 she married John Alfred Skoglund of Forest Lake.

They lived and worked the 68-acre family farm in the bay area of Forest Lake for many years. She was a housewife who raised three sons and helped run the Bayview Inn business for 30 years, her son said.

John Alfred Skoglund retired in 1979 and the couple traveled extensively and gradually began the process of developing their farm site into home sites. Today, all but one lot of the former Skoglund farm has been developed.

The Skoglunds were married for 50 years before Bea lost her husband on July 1, 1989. She continued to live in the family farm home after her husbandís death and only recently moved to a new home in the area. For her entire life, his mother lived only in Scandia and the bay area of Forest Lake, Ken said.

Throughout her retirement years, she stayed active at Faith Lutheran Church and with a local homemakerís club.

Faith senior Pastor Phil Peterson described Bea Skoglund as a ìquiet benefactorî who gave frequently to church causes but always stayed in the limelight, never wanting recognition.

Over the years, Peterson said he enjoyed his frequent pastoral visits to her home. ìYou never went just for conversation,î he said. ìShe always had coffee and goodies.î

A funeral service for Beatrice Skoglund was Friday, May 20 at Faith Lutheran Church with Pastor Peterson officiating. Interment was at Scandinavian Cemetery.

She is survived by one son, Kenneth; daughter-in-law Diane Rueb; seven grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Loraine Rydeen.

She was preceded in death by her husband, John Alfred Skoglund; and two sons, John and Wayne.

Top of Page

Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605