Nona Elaine Torseth passed away Monday, Feb. 15, in Northfield, Minn.
Elaine was born on the 25th of August, 1928 - her Grandma Brohaugh's 62nd birthday. Her parents were Clarence and Mabel (Esterby) Brohaugh. She was baptized at Eidsvold Lutheran Church in Esdaile, Wis., and she was also to be confirmed there and married there. She grew up on a farm about halfway between Ellsworth and Bay City, Wis., attending a country school a half mile from her home. In 1945, she graduated from Ellsworth High School and then went to work as a legal secretary.
She married Lowell Torseth on Nov. 13, 1954, on what would have been her father's 65th birthday. She and Lowell, a career army officer, spent the first eight months of their married life in Germany. Later, until Lowell retired from the army in 1970, they lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Alaska, and Maryland. At the time of Elaine's death, they had been married more than 55 years. They had two daughters, Kathy, born in Kansas, and Laurel, in Ohio.
After Lowell's retirement, they settled in Cottage Grove where they remained nearly 40 years. A dedicated homemaker, Elaine liked nothing better than looking after her family, and she was always there for those she loved, including not only her husband and daughters and grandchildren, but her siblings as well.
She was a bright woman who loved to read. She taught herself to play the piano, and she could sew and crochet and cook up a feast. At Elaine's table, you always ate too much because the food was so tasty and so plentiful. And she could fix things - she was delighted when she was able to restore something to use when someone less clever and less persistent would have thrown it away. She was not afraid of challenges. She even went up on the roof to help replace roof boards and install ventilators.
She is survived by her husband, Lowell, and her two daughters and their families: Kathy and Mark Granquist and their children, Elisabeth and Robert of Northfield, Minn.; and Laurel and Kevin Bornholtz and their children, Kristina and Daniel, of Woodbury, Minn. She also leaves behind two siblings, Audrey Staats and Bernie Brohaugh, both of River Falls, Wis.
She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Joel and Arley Brohaugh.
A memorial service celebrating the life of Nona Elaine Brohaugh Torseth will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 19, at Eidsvold Lutheran Church, Esdaile, Wis. (just across the river from Red Wing.)
In lieu of flowers, donations to Eidsvold Lutheran Church or Reflections Care Suites (Northfield, Minn.) are suggested.
Please contact the funeral home for directions to the church.
Arrangements are with the Benson & Langehough Funeral Home in Northfield, 507-645-5123, www.bensonfuneral.com.
Tags: obituaries
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