Eleanor Hamstad

Eleanor M. Hamstad, age 91, of Willmar, died Monday, July 8, at Bethesda Grand Nursing Home in Willmar.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 26, at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar.  Interment will be at Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Murdock.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.  Arrangements are with Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar.  www.petersonbrothers.com

Eleanor Magdalen Hamstad was born on August 3, 1927, on the family farm near Belle Plaine, Minnesota, the daughter of Hubert and Mary (Klobe) Tellers.  She grew up and received her education in the rural Belle Plaine community.  Eleanor began working as a clerk at the Gotha General Store (earning $1 / day) and later as aide at the Mudcura Sanitarium in Shakopee.  On November 11, 1950, at the St. John’s country church near Belle Plaine, Eleanor was married to Clarence R. Hamstad.  They lived in the communities of Cologne and Belle Plaine and in 1972, moved to a farm near Sunburg.  In 1995, Eleanor moved to Willmar.  She was a former member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Murdock and current member of the Church of St. Mary in Willmar.  She enjoyed gardening, crossword and jigsaw puzzles, crocheting and embroidery work.  Eleanor was a simple down to earth person who loved life.  She volunteered in church, had a strong Catholic faith and was a prayer warrior.

She is survived by five children, Mary Hamstad of Willmar, Delores Prahl of Kerkhoven, Joe (and Lois) Hamstad of Spicer, Robert (and Yvonne) Hamstad of Mora and Douglas Hamstad of Dilworth; seventeen grandchildren and thirty great grandchildren.  Also surviving is one brother, Richard (and Alice) Tellers of Norwood, besides other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Clarence in 1976; two sons, Michael and Rick; one daughter, Rita; six brothers and three sisters.