King, Eleanor Johanna (1910-2014)

KING, CHRISTENSEN, GODFREDSON

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 12/31/2014 at 22:01:22

Eleanor Johanna King
October 15, 1910 - November 20, 2014

Eleanor Johanna Christensen King, 104, of Springfield, Missouri, passed away on Thursday, November 20, 2014, after a long and fulfilling life.

The only daughter of Louis and Anna Marie Christensen (née Godfredson), Eleanor was born on October 15, 1910, on their farm three miles outside of Newell, Iowa. She graduated from Newell High School, where she played women's basketball. Next, she worked for the Sioux City Gas and Electric Company before marrying James Robert ("Bob") King. Eleanor and Bob met while singing in the choir at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sioux City and were married there on June 17, 1936.

Bob’s work career in broadcasting, government service, and the management of several Chambers of Commerce took the family to Yankton, South Dakota, Washington, D.C., Arlington, Virginia, Bethesda, Maryland, Owensboro, Kentucky, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and St. Louis, Missouri. In St. Louis, Eleanor worked as the Head Bookkeeper for Dairy Queen International from 1961 to 1968. When that office relocated to Minneapolis, she continued working as a Bookkeeper for a certified public accountant and a real estate office in St. Louis before retiring in 1969.

For over eighteen years after they retired, Eleanor and Bob provided monthly musical entertainment to fifty-four nursing homes in the St. Louis area. Bob played the organ; Eleanor led the singing. Their volunteer service was recognized multiple times in St. Louis-area newspapers.

Very active in church life over the years, Eleanor taught Sunday school, sang in church choirs, and participated in women's circles and mission work. She relocated to Springfield, Missouri, in 2003, and at the time of her death, she belonged to the Schweitzer United Methodist Church.

Eleanor was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; and two brothers, Arnold and Harold Christensen. She is survived by two sons, James King, of St. Louis, and Paul King, of Springfield, as well as by Paul's wife, Gail, and their twenty-two-year-old triplet boys, Brian, Eric, and Todd; and a nephew, William Christensen, and his wife, Pat, of Taylors, South Carolina, and their son, Sean, and his family of Roswell, Georgia.

A visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, November 25, 2014, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Gorman-Sharpf Funeral Home. A short service at Nain Lutheran Church and burial will follow in Newell, Iowa, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the James Robert ("Bob") and Eleanor J. King Memorial Fund, established in honor of their triplet grandsons, Brian, Eric, and Todd King, all 2014 graduates of Central Methodist University, 411 Central Methodist Square, Fayette, Missouri 65248.

Eleanor’s family wishes to personally thank the many people who have visited, written to and otherwise stayed in touch with Eleanor over the years, as well as the staff of Brookhaven Health Care & Rehabilitation Center in Springfield where Eleanor spent the last three years of her life.

Copyright © 2014, Gorman-Sharpf Funeral Home, Springfield, Missouri

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