Elaine Adams

Elaine M. Adams age 98, of Paynesville formerly of Willmar, died Wednesday morning, January 15, at the Koronis Manor in Paynesville.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 AM, Wednesday, January 29, at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar. Friends may call from 9:30 AM until the time of service at the church. A Daughters of Isabella Rosary will be at 10 A.M. Wednesday at the church. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Arrangements are with Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar. (www.petersonbrothers.com)

Elaine Marion Adams was born on September 16, 1915 in Norway, Michigan, the daughter of Barbara Margaret (Spaniol) and Urban Alexander. She grew up in that area and moved with her family to Iron Mountain, Michigan in 1925. There she completed her education and graduated valedictorian from Iron Mountain High School in 1932. She continued her education at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota and graduated cumlaude in 1936. On June 8, 1940, she married Harry Raymond "Ray" Adams. They made their home in Willmar, where Ray was an employee of the Great Northern Railroad. Ray died in 1968 in a railroad accident. Elaine taught all levels of mathematics for over 50 years, teaching in Kerkhoven, Clara City and most of her teaching years in Willmar, retiring in 1979. She earned a Masters Degree in Mathematics from the St. Cloud State University and had taken additional classes towards her doctorate degree. On January 6, 2001 she married Eldred "Al" Beckman and they spent summers in Minnesota and winters in Florida. In 2006 they moved to Paynesville and she moved into the Koronis Manor in Paynesville in 2013, where she has lived since. She was a member of the Daughters of Isabella in Willmar, the Senior Citizens and the Retired Teachers Association. Elaine was a generous supporter of the Willmar High School, Ridgewater College, St. Scholastica College in Duluth, Willmar Women's Fund, Willmar Community Foundation and numerous other charities.

She is survived by several cousins and 3 stepsons; Bruce Beckman of Edgewater, Florida, Robert (and Cynthia) Beckman of Knoxville, Tennessee and Donald Beckman of Brooklyn, New York. Also surviving are 4 step-grandchildren and 1 step-great granddaughter, besides other relatives and friends.

Elaine was preceded in death by her parents, both husbands (Ray in 1968 and Al in 2008) and 2 sisters; Barbara Ann Alexander and Junetta DerYuen.

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