Erika D. Gruenberg
Oct. 19, 1979 – Apr. 9, 2020
Erika D. Gruenberg, 40,
Grand Forks, ND, died
Thursday, April 9, 2020
in Grand Forks.
Erika Dawn (Olson)
Gruenberg was born to
Ardell and Karen (Sund-
quist) Olson on October
19, 1979 at McVille, North
Dakota. She spent her
childhood years on a farm
in the Sheyenne River
Valley near Aneta, North
Dakota. She was baptized
at Norway Lutheran
Church and confirmed at
Sundahl Lutheran
Church.
A lifelong love of sports
began at an early age start-
ing with t-ball, ice skat-
ing, and swimming. Erika
later participated in play-
ing softball, volleyball,
track, and basketball. In
high school at Edmore,
North Dakota, in addition
to sports, Erika took part
in most of the small town
high school activities of-
fered such as playing the
flute in the band and sing-
ing in the chorus. She at-
tended Northland Com-
munity and Technical
College in East Grand
Forks, Minnesota for med-
ical transcription, and gra-
duated from the Universi-
ty of North Dakota, Grand
Forks, North Dakota with
a bachelor’s degree in
Communications.
Erika married the love
of her life Joshua Gruen-
berg on September 9,
2006 at Turtle River State
Park, Arvilla, North Dako-
ta. They spent 16 years,
to the day, together as a
couple. Erika and Joshua
lived in Grand Forks,
where they enjoyed
spending time with their
many friends.
Erika worked at Nordi-
an Health Care Solutions
as a team leader Medicare
fraud specialist. She com-
pleted her work life out-
side the home as parapro-
fessional at Discovery Ele-
mentary. Erika loved
working with the kids in
the school up until
mid-2019 when she joked
that she “retired”. She
was also a partner with
her husband Joshua in PS
Garage Doors, a company
they purchased together
in October 2018.
Erika’s love of sports
and the outdoors were
passed on to her sons Jake
and Kale. Her greatest
joys in life were attending
her boys’ sporting events,
and simply spending time
with family at home, or at
the lake. Erika will al-
ways be remembered for
her strong spirit, quick
wit, quirky sense of
humor, determination,
and passion. She can be
described as the ultimate
sports mom who gave her
all to attend her boy’s
football, soccer, and hock-
ey games, and as a true
and loyal friend to many.
Lives were changed for-
ever when Erika entered
heaven’s gates on April 9,
2020 following a hard
fought battle against
metastatic breast cancer.
She is survived by her
husband Joshua; sons
Jacob Grandstrand and
Kale Gruenberg; father,
Ardell Olson (Tina);
mother, Karen Olson
(Ove); sisters Andrea Ol-
son and Adria Smith (Ja-
son); brother, Cruz Olson;
brother-in-law Justin
Gruenberg (RaChelle),
mother-in-law, Sheila
Paul (Tim);
brother-in-law, Rhett Paul
(Whitney);
grandmothers-in-law,
Theresa Gruenberg and
Grace Paul, niece, Chiara
Olson and nephews Tris-
tan and Kyan Olson,
Beckett and Remy Smith,
and Rekker and Chuckie
Gruenberg. Survivors
also include numerous
aunts and uncles, cousins,
and many friends who
were very special to her.
She was preceded in
death by her grandparents
Alfred and Eleanor Olson;
Arnold and MaryAnn
Sundquist,
grandfather-in-law Fred
Gruenberg, and
father-in-law Robert
Gruenberg. A family ser-
vice was held in her home
on April 13, 2020.
The family expresses
their sincere appreciation
to the Altru Cancer Clinic
and Altru Hospice staffs
for their compassionate
care, and to the many
friends and family
members that have sup-
ported them throughout
this very difficult time.
A celebration of Erika’s
life and sharing of
memories for friends and
family will be held at the
Alerus Center, 1200 S
42nd Street, Grand Forks,
North Dakota at 5:30 pm
November 18, 2020. CO-
VID precautions will be
observed. Live stream of
the service will be avail-
able through a link that
will appear on the
Amundson Funeral Home
website
(www.amundsonfuneralh
ome.com) at a future date.
Following the service,
there will be a reception
at PS Garage Offices, 4733
Demers Avenue. A private
committal service will
held at Silent Hill
Cemetery, Aneta, North
Dakota. Arrangements are
with Amundson Funeral
Home, Grand Forks.
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