Henrietta

Irene Henrietta Bork was born in 1917 during World War I on a homestead on the prairies of southeastern North Dakota. As the granddaughter of two immigrant families, she grew up appreciating the opportunities she had in the United States, and was always interested in history, politics, and the happenings in North Dakota. She married Fay Sanders, and together, they raised four children. One of them was Holly, who had Down syndrome. While Holly had challenges, she excelled in certain areas – and the family always pushed her to reach her potential. Irene admired Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Hayes, Jacqueline Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama and was more liberal than conservative in her views. She was a remarkable woman interested in the world until her death at age ninety-six in 2013. Written by Irene’s daughter, Carol F. Tuntland, this life story recalls the hopes, challenges, adversities, and triumphs of the first-born granddaughter of German immigrants – and also serves as an important record of what life was like from the end of World War I and into the twenty-first century.