Ethel “Sis” Marie Floding Lundgren peacefully passed away at the age of 94 in Salinas, CA, on the morning of Saturday, January 3, 2026. She was tended to by thecompassionate care of Loving Hearts Manor of Salinas, CA, and Hospice of the Central Coast of Monterey, CA, as well as by family members during her last days.

 

Ethel was born on June 16, 1931, in Alexandria, MN, to Enar “Pete” Floding and Mamie Viola Personius Floding. She grew up surrounded by family in the Alexandria area and attended local schools. She worked at her parents’ supper clubs throughout her teens in Alexandria and in St. Paul, MN. During her limited free time, she enjoyed roller skating and being in the company of her friends.

 

Eventually, her parents were enticed by family members to relocate to Stockton, CA, where she finished high school. During a visit to Minnesota she met her future husband, Lawrence Vernon “Ty” Lundgren through a high school friend, Vern’s younger sister. Shortly after she returned to Stockton, she contacted Vern and told him to meet her at the train station on a specific date and time in Alexandria, which he did.

 

Ethel and Vern were married in Alexandria on February 18, 1950. They made their home on Lake Henry where they started their family. Eventually, the milder climate and job opportunities of California beckoned their family of four to move to the Lodi area, where two more children were added to their brood. Every summer the family of six, and Ethel’s young sister, would pile into their station wagon and drive straight through to their Minnesota home town to spend time with family and friends. 

 

After they both retired, Ethel and Vern enjoyed drivingtheir motor home to Alexandria in the summer, and to Lake Havasu, AZ, in the winter. But just a few short years after Vern retired, he succumbed to lung cancer. With Ethel’s friendly nature, stubborn resolve, and the support of family and friends, she moved forward after Vern’s death. She loved Taco Mondays at the Lodi Moose Lodge, social hours with her neighbors, and continued traveling with friends to Havasu or to Alex. She was a diehard San Francisco Giants fan who enjoyed watching every gameand knew the names and personalities of many league players. She had fishing skills to admire, always catching the most and the largest from the lakes and rivers where she cast her line. She lived a full life with children and grandchildren loving and caring for her, and friends with whom she laughed and cried. During her last five years,and after living independently was no longer feasible, she moved to Seaside, CA, to live with her daughter and son-in-law. There she endured the cool coastal climate, enjoyednaps in the sunny back yard, and looked forward to daily drives to the ocean, through the Monterey Peninsula forestsand neighborhoods, or around the agricultural fields of the Salinas Valley.

 

Ethel is preceded in death by her parents, Pete and Mamie Floding; her husband of 45 years, Vern Lundgren; her two older brothers, James and Robert Floding, and their wives; her beloved daughter, Jeri Lynn Petersen; and her great-grandson, Joshua Lundgren.

 

She is survived by her sister, Sharon Floding Goreham(Don RIP); sons Michael and Scott (Sheila) Lundgren; daughter, Joy Lundgren Branson (Michael); son-in-law, Bill Petersen (Jeri RIP); ten grandchildren; thirteen great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and loved ones who joined her family through marriages and partnerships.

 

Ethel will be missed and fondly remembered by her family and friends. Per her request, there will be no public funeralservice. In a private farewell, she will be interred next to her husband at Lodi Memorial Park and Cemetery later in the spring.

 

Happy Trails to you, until we meet again……