Eleanor Josephine (Markegard) Laumb passed away peacefully at the age of 104 on September 5, 2022, at Mount Olivet Home in Minneapolis, Minn.
Eleanor was the fourth of six children born to John and Marie (Bakken) Markegard on a small farm west of Rushford, Minn., on September 29, 1917. She was baptized at Arendahl Lutheran Church, and as the grandchild of immigrants from Norway she had her confirmation in both English and Norwegian. Together with her parents and five siblings, she often traveled by horse-drawn sleigh to attend that country church. She had fond memories of her father heating bricks in the oven to keep their hands and feet warm on the way. Eleanor also enjoyed the journey to Pine Creek Country School a few miles from the farm, walking with her brothers across the fields, through the forest, and down the river bluffs.
After attending the University of Minnesota School of Agriculture in St. Paul as an art student, Eleanor married Arthur Laumb on May 22, 1937. They started their family in Rushford, living in a small house with no running water or indoor plumbing. During WWII they moved to Minneapolis, where they remained for the next several decades and raised their three sons: John, Richard, and Steven.
Over the years Eleanor worked at a variety of jobs, including retail at Dayton’s department store. In retirement she enjoyed helping the local election committee and volunteering at a nursing home. Her hobbies were cooking, gardening, and enjoying time with her extended family who knew and loved her as “Granny.” You could always count on Granny for words of advice. She also loved telling stories about her younger years on the farm, visiting friends and relatives across the U.S., and traveling to her ancestral home of Norway.
Eleanor is predeceased by her parents, her siblings Kenneth, Myrtle, Truman, Marion, and Arnold; and by her husband Arthur.
She is survived by her three sons, seven grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren.
Following a memorial service, Eleanor will return to Rushford to be buried next to Arthur in Rushford Lutheran Cemetery.