Ellen Westerlund

Ellen Sophie Westerlund was born on March 16, 1907, in Inwood, Iowa to the late John and Ingeborg (Syverson) Peterson. In 1917, Ellen moved with her family to Hedgesville, Montana where she continued to live until 1921 when she moved to Windom. After moving to Windom, Ellen received her education in District 25 (Jenks School). On December 12, 1926, Ellen was united in marriage to Clarence Loken in Winnebago, Minnesota. This marriage was blessed with five children. In April of 1936, Clarence passed away unexpectedly. After Clarence's death, Ellen contracted Tuberculosis and in September of 1936, Ellen became a patient at the Southwest Minnesota Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Worthington, Minnesota until September of 1941. She then began working in 1942 as a bookkeeper, retiring in 1980 as a deputy auditor for Cottonwood County-she served the county for twenty years. On June 15, 1946, Ellen was reunited in marriage to Arthur Herbert Westerlund in St. Peter, Minnesota. They made their home in Windom and had a happy life together. On November 29, 1991, Arthur passed away. After his death, Ellen continued to live at home until April 5, 2001, when she became a resident of the Good ...[more]

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aritan Society-Sogge Memorial in Windom. Ellen passed away there on January 4, 2010, at the wonderful age of 102! Ellen was a longtime, dedicated member of the American Lutheran Church in Windom where she was a member of the Eunice Circle, ladies choir in earlier years, and sewing day during the winter months. Through the years, Ellen was very active in her community as a charter member of the VFW Auxiliary which began in 1945 and dissolved in 2007, a member of the Gray Ladies (American Red Cross organized) which helped at the Good Samaritan Society-Sogge Memorial in Windom-the women received a state award in 2000 and there was a reception and award ceremony at the state capital, was elected as the 2nd vice-president officer in 1951 and 1952 for the first auxiliary formed for the Good Samaritan Society-8 groups were organized from this auxiliary, each group met once a month to plan fundraisers, was also one of the first officers of the local foreign exchange program and a chairman of the cancer fund for several years. Ellen will be remembered for many things in life including her beautiful singing voice-she loved to sing all the Norwegian songs she learned as a child from her mother, loved to do handiwork of all types, loved to travel-having visited Norway twice to visit cousins and her parent's birth homes, bird watching, taking pictures, cribbage, and any Norwegian food. Ellen is survived by her five children, John Loken (Cozette) of Windom; Curtis Loken (Leona) of St. Peter; Phyllis Quiring of Dixon, CA; Mary DeFries of Eden Prairie; Clarice Clausen (Craig) of Ellendale; 15 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren; two sisters, Hazel Coulson of Sun City West, AZ; Alice McDonald of Sun City West, AZ; one brother, Marvin Peterson (Marjorie) of Sun City West, AZ; and many nieces, nephews and other relatives. Ellen is preceded in death by her parents; two husbands, Clarence Loken and Art Westerlund; two brothers, John and Norman Peterson; three sisters, Signe Krietz, Jenny Pietz and Margaret Murphy.