Elinor Wiskow

One of the Lord’s faithful servants, Elinor Irene (Gustafson) Wiskow, age 84, of Wadena, Minnesota, joined him in Heaven on November 12, 2024. She passed peacefully with family at her side after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Memorial services will be held Saturday, November 23, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wadena, with the visitation one hour prior to services at church.

Elinor Irene Gustafson was born March 31, 1940, at Mercy Hospital in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. She grew up with her parents Gustaf “Gust” and Marie (Peterson) Gustafson and her older sister Melba on the family farm at Hazel, Minnesota.

As a child she loved playing outdoors in all weather, playing with paper dolls with her dear friend Connie, helping her mother with cooking and baking, roller-skating on Friday nights in town, and Nordic skiing. She especially enjoyed meeting her dad as he walked back from work at the railroad switch in Hazel, later getting to practice her “driving skills” under Gust’s tutelage. Elinor went to country school until 8th grade when she transitioned to town school and graduated from Lincoln High School in Thief River in 1958.

In the summer of 1956, she met Walter Dean Wiskow on a blind date. They made their relationship official in the summer of 1958, and they were wed at St. Pauli Lutheran Church in St. Hilaire, Minnesota on July 5, 1959. They quickly transitioned to married life in Seattle, Washington. Walt was drafted and they moved to San Antonio, Texas, where Walt was stationed with the Army from 1960 to 1962. They moved back to a farm near St. Hilaire after his honorable discharge. During this time Walt worked for Bridgeman Dairy and Elinor worked in the office of a local optometrist. Elinor became a stay-at-home mom when Steven joined them in October 1965, with Suellen following in Sept 1969 and Sara in June 1977. She later helped Walt run his grocery business in Lake Park, Minnesota where they made many good memories, and the family moved back to St. Hilaire and then Thief River Falls in the early 1980s.

They moved to South Dakota, Montana, and Iowa, then retired to Wadena in 2006. Along the way Elinor worked as a CNA for nearly 20 years and was adored by her co-workers and patients alike. She made valuable friends with whom she shared many giggles and cups of coffee. She and Walt made multiple tractor rides as far south as Iowa. She was also a devoted Legion Auxiliary Member, and active as a volunteer with Meals on Wheels, Food Shelf and at the local hospital.

She will long be remembered for her loyalty, grace, and compassion. Elinor was mom to the neighborhood kids and always had some sort of cookies in the jar. She would drop everything to help a friend and has sewn more quilts than she can count. Elinor was a faithful wife, amazing mother, and a doting grandmother and great-grandmother. She was cherished by all who knew her.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years Walt; son Steven (Margaret) Wiskow; daughters Sue (Bob) Kiffe, and Sara (Rich) Dungan; grandchildren: Luke, Olivia, Joey, and Eli Wiskow, and Rachel (Ryan) Johnson, Katie and Michael Austad, and James Dungan;  great-grandchildren: Nathan, Paige, David, Nina and Isabella; sister Melba Lundeen; and numerous sisters and brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, brothers and sisters in law and nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank Knute Nelson Hospice for their grace and compassion. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Immanuel Lutheran Church to support their community and charity outreach programs.

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