Darla Gunderson

The live stream for Darla’s service can be viewed at:

https://www.northwoodcommunitybiblechurch.com/liveonline

Darla Gunderson, 65, of Northwood, ND, passed away Monday, September 29, 2025, at her home in Northwood. A funeral service will be held Friday, October 10, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Community Bible Church in Northwood. A visitation will be held Thursday, October 9, 2025, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. with a 7:00 p.m. prayer service at the church.

Darla Thompson was born on August 10, 1960, in Grand Forks, ND, to Clarence and Eleanor Thompson. She grew up on a farm near Buxton, ND. She started attending Central Valley School in 1966 and graduated from Central Valley High School in 1978. After high school, Darla attended Aakers Business College and received a Jr Accounting degree.

On June 30, 1979, Darla married her high school sweetheart, Joel Gunderson. They moved to Hutchinson, MN, in 1982. They were blessed with two sons, Matthew and Jacob. The most important things in her life were her faith in God and her family. Darla was a stay-at-home mom until the boys were in grade school. From 1990 – 1996, she worked as a teacher’s aide. She then began working as a church secretary at Vineyard United Methodist Church from 1996 – 2000. She worked at Target as a front-end supervisor until 2008 and then as a teller at Home State Bank. She continued as a teller until they moved to Grand Forks following Joel’s retirement in 2013. Darla enjoyed her grandkids and they made several trips each year to visit them in Cincinnati (Matt’s) and Duluth (Jake’s). She also enjoyed various crafts and made more than 100 barn quilts.

They moved to Northwood, ND, in 2018 and she started working at Northwood Community Bible Church as the church secretary and quit in December of 2023, when the side effects of her cancer treatments made it impossible to continue doing her job. While in Northwood, she started a shirt ministry and made 1140 witness wear t-shirts that the church gave out to the community.

She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer on May 22, 2020, and courageously battled this disease until her death on September 29, 2025. While battling cancer, she wanted to encourage others and made 344 t-shirts with “He Can Heal Cancer” on the front of the shirt and attached her personal testimony to the shirt tag. These were given out at the Roger Maris Cancer Center to patients and staff. She will be remembered for her loving care of others and for her faith that no matter what her circumstances were, God is in control and she could rest in His will.

She is survived by her husband, Joel; sons, Matthew (Sarah) and Jacob (Stephanie); grandchildren: Frank, Joann, Michelle, Kayla, Zakaryah, Hezekyah (Matt and Sarah); and Sherin, Joy, Gabriel (Jacob and Stephanie); great-grandchildren, Heaven and Scarlet (Matt and Sarah); mother, Eleanor Thompson; sister, Deborah Cook; brother, Doug (Deb) Thompson; and sister, Dawn (Paul) Santangelo; Darla is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents; father, Clarence; brother, Dana; and brother-in-law, Dave Cook.