Lloyd Warren Zetterberg's Obituary
On April 1, 1925, a wonderful thing happened to Carl and Anna Zetterberg, their fifth child, Lloyd Warren Zetterberg, was born. There were three more children that followed. The children’s names, in order of age, are: George, Ruby, Pearl, Carl, Lloyd, MaryLouise, John and James. MaryLouise was his lifelong friend and when each of the two siblings married, the friendship continued as a foursome. Lloyd was the last surviving member of his family.
Growing up in a family of ten, during what was about to become a disastrous economic time in US history, required the acquisition of some important life skills—skills like not being late for dinner, not waiting too long before needing to use the outhouse and never, ever being the last one to bathe when using their procession-line bathtub. The family lived together in a two bedroom house in Superior, Wisconsin and by the grace of God, they all managed to keep their sanity.
It was in 1940 when the family packed up and moved to Tacoma, Washington. The family found a church in Tacoma to attend, Bethel Pentecostal Assembly. Lloyd didn’t know it yet, but he was about to meet the love of his life, Frances Nilsen. Frances made Bethel her home church when she was 12 years old on the invitation of her aunt who attended the church. She told Frances that a large family had started attending, all of whom played instruments in the church orchestra. One Sunday night, many years later, Lloyd entered the church in a new brown suit. Frances could see him from where she sat, and as he stood in the back, with his overcoat flung over his arm, his hat in hand, her heart melted. “This is the man for me,” she swooned. Frances and Lloyd spent a great deal of time together but they never had an actual date. Their time together was spent at church or with a group of their friends from church. Time passed, maybe a little too much time as far as Frances was concerned, but finally one day Lloyd asked Frances to take a ride with him. He drove up to a beautiful overlook of the city at Browns Point and there he asked her to marry him. The couple was married on February 9, 1951. Their marriage was a true love story spanning decades. Lloyd passed away shortly before their 66th wedding anniversary.
In those early years together Lloyd worked with his dad moving houses and then later worked with his father-in-law in construction while Frances was busy working for Weyerhaeuser. Their first child, Diane, was born on December 3, 1951. Their second child, Karen was born on December 9, 1954. God always came first in their life and with His guidance the couple stepped out in faith and in April 1958, started a construction company of their own. Frances quit her job at Weyerhaeuser to become a full-time wife, mother and business partner. The houses Lloyd built were not just buildings; to him each house was the future home of a family and so they were built with great integrity and quality. Then on December 5, 1958 their third child, Joan was born.
The family lived in seven homes; the first was a home that Lloyd remodeled. The six that followed were new homes that Lloyd built himself. Life was full. They worked hard and God blessed their labor. They weren’t quite finished building their family however, and so baby #4, David, came on March 15, 1961 and then baby #5, Carol, was born on January 31, 1963.
Lloyd built a total of 87 homes, duplexes and apartments in his career. He also assisted in the remodel of three churches and for three years volunteered his Thursday’s and Saturday’s to the building of a new church for Bethel Christian Assembly, now called Church For All Nations; the church he and Frances have attended ever since he arrived in Tacoma. He built beautiful homes for a living but anyone who knew him would say that his true vocation was sharing Jesus. That was always at the very center of his life. And everything he did reflected it. He wasn’t one of those people who acted one way in church and quite another everywhere else. It wasn’t about religion for Lloyd. Loving God and loving people was what he did and who he was. You could see that in the way he spent his spare time. The majority of it was given to volunteering in his church. He was a drummer in the orchestra and then later he was the orchestra director; a Sunday school teacher and then Sunday school superintendent; he served on the trustee board and then as an elder. Serving—that’s what it was all about for him.
He inspired many with the way he lived his life. The way his wife, five children and their spouses, nine grandchildren and their spouses, three, soon to be five great-grandchildren feel about him is perhaps the best testament to the kind of man he was; all of them, without exception, loved to be with him. That’s the kind of home he created for his family. It was a place they all wanted to be. On Saturday, January 28, 2017, the last day of his life, the family surrounded his hospital bed. They sang Amazing Grace together and then as they recited the twenty-third Psalm, Lloyd took his last breath and entered into the presence of his beloved savior, Jesus Christ. He loved Jesus with his whole being, loved his family, and loved to serve others. His absence from our lives is a very great loss indeed, but we rejoice with him in the acquisition of his new home in Heaven and have the assurance that one day we will be together again.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, February 11 at 2:30pm at Church For All Nations, 111 112th St E, Tacoma, WA 98445.
What’s your fondest memory of Lloyd?
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Share a story where Lloyd's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Lloyd you’ll never forget.
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