Vivian Kuchar

Vivian Ann (Gulbranson) Kuchar, age 92, of Breckenridge, MN, passed away on Thursday, May 26, 2022, surrounded by her loving family and under the care of CHI-Health at Home and Hospice, at St. Francis Home, Breckenridge. Visitation will be held from 5 PM to 7 PM, Wednesday, June 8, 2022, with a recitation of the rosary to begin at 5:30 PM and a prayer service at 7 PM at Joseph Vertin and Sons Funeral Home, Breckenridge. Visitation will continue from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM, Thursday, June 9, 2022, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 4 PM at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Breckenridge. Father Leo Moenkedick will be officiating. Burial will be held in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, Breckenridge, at a later date. A live stream of the service will be available under Vivian’s obituary page at www.josephvertinandsons.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to Joseph Vertin and Sons Funeral Home.

Vivian Ann Gulbranson was born August 18, 1929 in Flom, MN to Anna Juliann (née Nyheim) and Helmer Ferdinand Gulbranson. She was the firstborn of six children, growing up on the farm and attending school in nearby Fertile, MN. She excelled in school and graduated a year early in 1946.

After high school, Vivian headed for the big city of Fargo, ND to pursue her passion at the New York Hairdressing Academy. She met her future husband, John Frank Kuchar, in Fargo and they were married at Fargo's St. Mary's Cathedral on October 2, 1948. For a time, they lived in Moorhead, MN, and then in 1951, they moved to Wahpeton, ND, and finally to Breckenridge, MN where Vivian lived out her life.

In the early days, Vivian worked as a waitress in Erskine, MN. Later, as a homemaker raising her family, she used her hairdressing vocation to provide her family and friends with the fashionable hairstyles she had learned to create at the academy. After the loss of her infant daughter, Christine, who passed away from complications of Down syndrome, Vivian went to work for Breckenridge Public Elementary School as a special ed teacher's aide. She spent the next 27 years (1972-1999) teaching and loving those special students.

Vivian's passions extended beyond her hairdressing. She loved sewing, crafting, reading, music, gardening, and woodworking. She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Homemakers Club, Women's Catholic Order of Foresters (Lady Foresters), and Christian Mothers Society.

Vivian was preceded in death by her husband, John, and infant daughter Christine Diane; parents, Anna and Helmer Gulbranson; sisters and brothers-in-law, Mildred and Larry Ramsdolf, Arla Jean Meyer, Dorothy, and Bob Anderson; brothers and sister-in-law, Ralph and Lois Gulbranson, and Orvie Gulbranson; and Daniel's wife, Mari Maggio; brothers and sisters-in-law, Fran Swanson, Laddie Kuchar, and Edward Kuchar.

Vivian is survived by her children, Penelope (Bill) Seifert, Wahpeton, ND; Geraldine Berg, West Fargo, ND; Patrick (Debra) Kuchar, West Fargo, ND; Cynthia Kolbe, Oakes, ND; Michael Kuchar, Bismarck, ND; Sharon (Mark) Litton, Bismarck, ND; and Daniel Kuchar, Bismarck, ND; grandchildren, Paul Seifert and Becky Smith; Bridget Hesby, Cassie Wulfekuhle, and Jamie Berg; Amanda Kuchar and Breanna Olson; Kasper Kolbe, Kayla Kolbe, and Brian Kolbe; Chad Henning, Gregory Litton, and Jeffrey Litton; as well as 16 great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Sandra Gulbranson, Cottage Grove, MN, Mary Wavrin, Medford, OR, and Pat Connelly, Grants Pass, OR; and brothers-in-law, Stanley Kuchar, Mora, MN, George Kuchar, Mount Olive, IL, and Jim Kuchar, Naples, FL.