Elvira R. DeMorett

Elvira R. DeMorett, 90
Eden Valley
August 30, 1920 ~ April 26, 2011


Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Assumption Catholic Church, Eden Valley for Elvira R. DeMorett, age 90, who passed away Tuesday at Hilltop Care Center in Watkins. Rev. Virgil Braun will officiate and burial will be in the parish cemetery. Friends and relatives may call from 4-8 p.m. Friday and after 9:00 a.m. Saturday at Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home, Eden Valley. Eden Valley Senior Citizens, Assumption Christian Women Society and St. Joseph & St. Mary's Catholic Aid Council will pray the rosary at 6:00 p.m., followed by parish prayers at 7:00 p.m. all Friday at the funeral home.
Elvira Rose DeMorett was born on August 30, 1920 to Katherine (Rademacher) and Alex Fink. She was the oldest of eight children. They lived on a farm three miles north of Eden Valley. She graduated from Eden Valley High School in 1936. She attended St. Cloud Teacher's College for one year and spent the next year as a nanny in St. Paul. Even though Elvira liked the cities, she knew she didn't want to live there. She had met Henry when he worked for her father, and knowing that he was the man for her, she returned to Eden Valley to marry him on May 2, 1939. They rented a farm for eight years and then bought their own farm between Eden Valley and Watkins where they resided until 1979. There they raised eight children, five sons and three daughters.
After selling the farm, Elvira and Henry moved to Eden Valley where she became very active in community and church activities. She joined the Senior Citizen's Club and they soon asked her to be an officer. Henry said: "Tell them two years," but she ended up being an officer for twelve years and president for nine years. She also sang with the Choralaires, a local women's choir. Until a few months ago, she had spent over twenty years writing a column in the Eden Valley-Watkins Journal/Patriot "The News from around Eden Valley", in which she kept up with the social goings-on in the small town.
If you asked Elvira to name two passions, she would say her church and her children. She was very involved with Assumption Church in Eden Valley. She was a lector for many years, involved in the religious education program for 16 years, a member of the mission group, a Eucharistic Minister, and a member of the church choir. In 1989 she and her granddaughter Kim made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in Yugoslavia which affected her profoundly.
Elvira was not afraid to try new things. When Henry needed to move to the nursing home in a nearby town, Elvira decided she needed a driver's license. She had driven plenty of tractors but never a car. She took a driver's ed. course and received her license, all at the age of 65. When she moved into the senior citizen's apartment building in 2003, she wanted to keep in better contact with her children and grandchildren, so she learned to use a computer so she could communicate through e-mail.
Elvira had many hobbies. She loved gardening and bird watching. She made quilts for many years, giving them to her children and grandchildren and donating them to the church. She was an avid reader of novels and the newspaper.
She was an ardent Twins fan and would listen to or watch every game possible. Though she didn't watch many modern television shows, she didn't want to miss "Jeopardy."
What Elvira liked the most were visits from her family, and she had many: eight children, 21 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and three great-great grandchildren. She was proud of her family and loved to talk about them with others, and her family was proud of her.
Survivors include her sons and daughters, Joseph (Karen) of Plymouth, Mary Ann (Jerry) Cwikla of Middle River, Carol (Robert) Ross of Sauk Rapids, Robert (Cindy) of Watkins, Sharon of Eden Valley, Steve (Brenda Payne) of Sartell and Henry (Kathy Torkelson) of Prior Lake; daughter-in-law, Carol DeMorett of Lindstrom; sister and brothers, Natalie Niewind of Eden Valley, Tony Fink of Overland Park, KS, John Fink of Brookings, SD and Richard Fink of Minnetonka; 21 grandchildren, 24 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren.
Elvira was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Henry on March 22, 1988; son, Thomas; and brothers, Kenneth, Romaine and Leopold Fink.
Obituary and Guest Book available online at:
www.williamsdingmann.com