Eleanor Erstad

Eleanor Irene Lambertson was born March 20, 1923, on the family farm in Spring Creek, MN, north of Ada, MN, to Columbus Elmer and Ellen Viola (Paul) Lambertson. She was the youngest of thirteen children. In 1935, the family moved to Ada, where she attended school.
Eleanor moved to Monticello, MN, and then to St. Paul, MN, where she was a nanny for the Hannifins, who had two children. She moved with them to Santa Barbara, CA, when Mr. Hannifin was in the service. Eleanor later moved back to Ada and worked in cafés.
Eleanor married Myron Erstad on July 21, 1948, in Twin Valley, MN. She was a cook, custodian and caring person. As a cook, she worked at the Ada Hospital, the Ada West Side Drive Inn, and at a group home in north Fargo, ND. She worked at St. Luke's Hospital (MeritCare), now Sanford on Broadway, as a custodian for twenty years. She then worked for Experience Works (Green Thumb). Eleanor was affectionately known as "The Popcorn Lady", as she greeted people with a bag of popcorn whenever they happened into the Clay County Courthouse.
Eleanor enjoyed crocheting, playing cards, fishing, playing piano, completing crossword puzzles, and visiting family and friends. She had a "green thumb" and could make any plant grow. She and Myron had several dogs over the years, which they gave special rides in their vehicle. Eleanor frequently visited her family in nursing homes, especially Gladys, Edna and Murriel, who lived in Ulen, Crookston and Litchfield, MN.
Eleanor spent the last years of her life at Home Appeal, Moorhead, where Lynn Brock was her caregiver and friend. Eleanor and four other women, all suffering from dementia, were loved dearly as family. Eleanor died Sunday, October 3, 2010, in Elim Rehab and Care Center, Fargo, at eighty-seven years of age.
She is survived by her four children, Geraldine (Elmer) Balvik, Jamestown, ND, Patricia (Joseph) Monda, Clinton, PA, Marvin Erstad, Hillsboro, ND, and Robbi (Joy) Erstad, Enderlin, ND; eleven grandchildren; twenty-four great-grandchildren; sister-in-law,
Eleanor was preceded in death by her husband, parents, all of her siblings, and one grandson, Kelly Erstad.
Visitation for Eleanor will be Friday, October 8, 2010, from 1 PM - 2 PM, in Maranatha Free Lutheran Church, 110 Foundation Avenue, Glyndon, MN.
Her funeral will be Friday at 2 PM, in the church.
Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Glyndon.