Memorial
Anna Mae Urness Gesme, of Cedar Rapids, passed away into the loving arms of her dear Savior at the age of 98 on Friday, May 8, 2026, after a long and purposeful life.
Ann was the second of three children born in Black Earth, Wisconsin on April 29, 1928, to Nels and Emma Urness. She grew up on a dairy farm and was baptized and confirmed at Vermont Lutheran Church located a quarter mile up the road from the family’s farm. Ann graduated from Black Earth Public School in 1945, and attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota where she majored in biology and general science. It was at St. Olaf that a class assignment for Beginning Norwegian class required her to write her family saga. This sparked Ann’s lifelong interest and expertise as a genealogist in Norwegian heritage. After graduation she taught high school in Emmons, Minnesota. While there she met Dean Hartley Gesme, who was a student at Luther College. They were married on July 22,1950 and lived in Decorah, Iowa until July 1951, when they moved to Waterloo, Iowa. In 1958 the family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Researching the family’s Norwegian Heritage was an important part of Ann’s life. She traveled to Norway many times, became a fine rosemaler, and taught Norwegian classes through Sons of Norway Restauration Lodge in Cedar Rapids where she was a founding member in 1975. She researched and wrote four books about her family’s Norwegian heritage in her Look to the Rock series. In 1993 her book, Between Rocks and Hard Places, was published. In 2021 an expanded version of the book, now titled Norwegian Emigration: Between Rocks and Hard Places, was published. It is a valued resource about traditions, customs and conditions in Norway during the 1800’s in Norway.
Ann was a member and held leadership roles with the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum’s Board of Trustees, Norwegian American Historical Association, Norwegian American Genealogical Center and Naeseth Library, Sons of Norway and several Bygdelag.
Ann is survived by her three children, Dr. Dean H. Gesme, Jr. (Laura), Karen Brunssen, Martha Nielsen (Peter); five grandchildren, Greta Wicker (Colin), Kerstin Balfour (Don), Erika Gesme, Karl Brunssen, Emma Nielsen (Michael); six great-grandchildren, Chase and Parker Balfour, Soren, Berit, and Silje Wicker, and Kell Kavanaugh.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Dean H. Gesme, Sr, her parents, and siblings.
A memorial service will be held at First Lutheran Church,1000 3rd Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403 in Cedar Rapids on July 6th at 1:00 pm and a reception afterward at Cottage Grove Place, 2115 1st Ave SE, Cedar Rapids Iowa from 2:30 – 3:30 pm.
Ann will be laid to rest at the Vermont Lutheran Church Cemetery in Black Earth, Wisconsin later this summer.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be directed to: Vermont Lutheran Church in Black Earth, Wisconsin, or Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum.