THORSTENSON, Eilert O. 1905-2000

GJEFLE, THORSTENSON, JACOBSON, KOLSRUD, HONN, KARGES, KNUDSON

Posted By: IA GenWeb Volunteer
Date: 8/21/2010 at 12:37:05

Decorah Public Opinion, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2000

Eilert O. Thorstenson

Eilert O. Thorstenson, 95, of Waukon, died Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000, at Northgate Care Center in Waukon following a brief illness.

Funeral services were held Monday, Oct. 2, at 11 a.m., at the Old West Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waukon with the Rev. Ken Kimball
officiating.

Casket bearers were Carlyle, Richard and Clark Kolsrud, and Eric, Lennie, Bradley and Damian Thorstensdn.

Honorary bearers were Kelly Reiser, Denise Sweeney, Debbie Hartkemeyer, Terri Thorstenson, Wendy White, Heather Honn, Krystal Honn and Andrea Thorstenson.

Burial was at the church cemetery. The Martin Funeral Home handled arrangements.

Eilert Oran Thorstenson was born March 22, 1905, in a log cabin in Paint Creek Township of Allamakee County, the son of Edward and Ida Sophia (Gjefle) Thorstenson.

He moved with his family at age 5 to North Dakota, where he attended Benson County rural schools. In 1928, he returned to Allamakee County.

On Nov. 11, 1931, he married Charlotte Jacobson at the First Presbyterian Church parsonage in Waukon.

Eilert sold Occo Minerals and Archer Aircraft Oil for over 40 years and served as county manager for Allamakee and Winneshiek counties. He also farmed in Jefferson Township of Allamakee County for over 40 years and operated a mobile firewood sawmill for many of the local residents.

Eilert was a member of Old West Paint Creek Lutheran Church, where he served on the Church Council and held various offices.

He had a passion for bowling and traveled the state participating in various tournaments, including winning a gold medal at the Iowa Games in 1982.

He was a member of the Iowa Bowlers Association Hall of Fame. Eilert also enjoyed horseshoe pitching, fishing, gardening, raising flowers and pheasant hunting.

Survivors include his wife Charlotte of Waukon; two daughters, Eunice and Robert Kolsrud and Karla Honn, of Waukon; three sons, Wayne and Ronda Thorstenson of Waukon, Dean and Juanita Thorstenson of Waterville and David and Linda Thorstenson of Cedar Rapids; 15 grandchildren; 26 greatgrandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; three sisters, Stella Karges of Fargo, N.D., Selma Thorstenson of Kansas City, Mo., and Wilma and Brent Knudson of Petaluma, Calif.; one brother, Otto and Eleanor Thorstenson
of Waukon; a sister-in-law, Maxine Thorstenson of Waukon; and an aunt, Esther Kolsrud of Waukon.

Eilert Thorstenson was preceded in death by his parents; an infant daughter, Ida Ann; three brothers, Alvin, Ingvald and Floyd; and a sister, Geneva.

Transcribed by an IA GenWeb Volunteer from obituaries found in the Howard-Winneshiek Genealogy Society Library, Cresco, Iowa.