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Elinor Elizabeth Palmer (Mrs. Homer L. Donaldson) 1908-2006

STAHL, PALMER, DEBELLE, DRESSER, BURT, DONALDSON, TURNER, WALLIN, NEEL, MORGAN, NEWMAN, CLUTTER, GILBERT

Posted By: Janet Koozer (email)
Date: 1/8/2007 at 12:00:21

Elinor Elizabeth Donaldson was born November 23, 1908, at the rural home of her parents near Rossville, IA in Jefferson Township, Allamakee County. She was the second daughter of John H. and Della (Stahl) Palmer. She passed away Thursday, October 5, 2006, in the Good Samaritan Center at Postville,Iowa, at the age of 97 years.

Elinor received her education in the rural schools near her home. She moved with her family to Waukon in 1919 and continued her education there, graduating from the Waukon High School with the class of 1926.

Following graduation, Elinor secured a domestic job in the Quad Cities area where she worked for a year before returning to Waukon to attend the Waukon Junior College. After a year at the junior college, she relocated to take domestic service employment with several well-to-do families in Illinois, residing in the Lake Forest area just north of Chicago, immediately prior to the onset of World War II. During this period, she was briefly married to Loren DeBelle in 1932. During World War II and immediately afterwards, Elinor worked as a secretary for a firm that built railroad car components in Chicago.

Following her marriage to Charles Earl Burt in 1949, Elinor continued with volunteer and secretarial work in Chicago through the 1950s and 1960s. In 1971 Earl and Elinor retired and moved to a rural home near Fayetteville, Arkansas. After Earl's death in 1975, Elinor continued to reside in Arkansas.

In 1977 Elinor was married to Homer Lee Donaldson in Arkansas. Following Homer's death in 1987, Elinor moved to Postville in 1989, making her home with her sister, Felicia Dresser. Following Felicia's death in 1997, Elinor continued to live on the farm near Postville, until moving to Grand Meadows Glen Apartments in 2003. Since the summer of 2004, Elinor has been a resident at the Postville Good Samaritan Center.

Elinor is survived by ten nieces and nephews, namely John Dresser of Marshalltown, Eunice Turner of Postville, Mary Wallin of Thousand Oaks, CA, Corinne Neel of Pine Top, AZ, H. Craig Morgan of Quartz Hill, CA, Kent F. Palmer of Fulton, MO, Dean C. Palmer of Minneapolis, MN, Lane W. Palmer of Des Moines, IA, Anne Newman of Anchorage, AK, and Jill Clutter of Columbus, OH, She is also survived by many grandnieces and grandnephews and great grandnieces and great grandnephews. Also surviving is a brother-in-law, Robert P. Gilbert of Arlington, TX and numerous cousins.

Elinor was preceded in death by her husbands, her parents, two sisters, Felicia Dresser and Theresa Gilbert, and her brother Wilson G. Palmer.

Since relocating to Postville, Elinor joined the Community Presbyterian Church and participated in local clubs and activities, including the West Post Project Club and the Monday Club. She was also a 50-year member of the order of Eastern Star.

Casket Bearers: Randy Suckow, Steven Turner, Rick Holiday, David Nesheim, Kyle Turner, Kurt Turner, Kory Turner.

Interment will be at odd Fellows Cemetery, rural, Rossville, IA


 

Allamakee Obituaries maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
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