Elaine Zilmer

Elaine Eunice Zilmer, 85, a resident of Fergus Falls, died Thursday, July 7, 2011 at the Lakeland Hospice House in Fergus Falls, surrounded by her family. She was born March 2, 1926, in Wahkon, Minnesota, the daughter of Knute W. and Mayme (Dahlstrom) Anderson. She grew up in Wahkon where she attended elementary school, and then attended Isle High School, graduating in 1944. She was baptized on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1944 in Wahkon. On March 14, 1948, she and Harold Walter Zilmer were married in Wahkon. The couple resided in Wahkon, and then Isle, where they raised their two sons. In 1997 they moved to Fergus Falls. She was a former member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Isle in which she was very active, and a current member of Faith Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls. Elaine enjoyed baking, sewing, fishing in both the winter and summer, camping trips and being outdoors, and spending time with family and visiting and having coffee with friends. She was a great story teller, and knew many nursery rhymes and Bible verses and could recite them all from memory. She is so happy to have had a chance to tell many of you goodbye, and for those she hasn’t talked to, she asked “Please make sure that everyone knows that I loved them.” Preceding her in death were her parents, her father and mother-in-law, Walter and Rose (Lommel) Zilmer, a sister, Grace Betty Paulson, and two brothers-in-law, Ron Brisker and Marius Paulson Survivors include her husband, Harold Zilmer of Fergus Falls; her sons: Dennis (Diane) Zilmer of Fergus Falls, and Les (Pat) Zilmer of Longview, WA; five grandchildren: Heather (David) Goroski of Wahpeton, ND, Wes (Tara) Zilmer of Rothsay, MN, Keith (girlfriend Kari Meyer) Zilmer of Moorhead, MN, Becky (Greg) Beyl of Beaverton, OR, and Jessica (Bear) Sorensen of Forks, WA; four great-grandchildren: Kyle, Karsyn & Alivia Zilmer of Rothsay, MN, and Josiah Sorensen of Forks, WA; her siblings: Bonna Bergman, Helen Erickson, Howard (Meredith) Anderson, Darwin (Janet) Anderson, and Janet Brisker; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Visitation: One hour prior to the service at the church Service: 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, 2011, at Faith Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls Clergy: Reverend Craig Palach Interment: Trinity-Faith Cemetery in Fergus Falls Funeral Home: Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls