Obituary of Elaine Louise Taylor

Elaine L. (Peterson) Taylor of Minneapolis passed away January 3, 2023; age 90. Preceded in death by her parents Carl J. and Hildur L. Krafve Peterson, and her sisters Elsa, Kathryn McEwan, and Arlene Fontham. Survived by sons Douglas (Dawn), Carl, Richard Sr (Lisa) and daughter Eileen Anderson (Roger); 6 grandchildren: Jeffrey (Cadi Jo), Jason, Robert (Alice), Emily (Jon), Richard Jr, and Kyle; and 6 great grandchildren; dear cousins and friends, nieces, and nephews. Memorial service Jan. 21, 2 PM, St. John’s Lutheran Church, 4842 Nicollet Ave. S. with visitation one hour prior; reception to follow. Private interment. Memorials preferred to Chi Rho Camp ℅ St John;s Lutheran Church, Lutheran Social Service (lssmn.org), and St John’s Lutheran Church.

Elaine was born the summer of 1932 at home on the farm in Day, MN. Her 3 older sisters were sent off to the relatives with the promise of a surprise when they got home. They were expecting ice cream. The Peterson side of the family were very musical, and Elaine inherited this talent. At age 4 she sang a solo of Away In A Manger during the Christmas Eve service at Siloa Lutheran, their community church. Our mother is among the proud descendants of the first 63 people from Sweden that settled in the Day and Dalbo area in 1869. We have some interesting stories of how they traveled, acquired their homesteads, and lived side by side with the Native Americans.

Mom became proficient on the piano and played trumpet in her high school band. Her small community had a 2-room schoolhouse which she attended through 8th grade. At the end of her junior year her parents sold the farm and moved to the town of Braham. She was a bit upset to change schools just before her senior year of high school. But Mom, being the social creature she was, made many more friends. Her first high school always included her for all the class reunions. She made lifelong relationships with her friends from school and church. Lenore, Annie, Berniece, Betty, and Lorraine were around on many occasions. Her dog, Pal, was a great playmate also. He went cross country skiing and sledding with her. Lots of cousins were nearby and Cousin Ralph taught her to ride a bike at age 16.

After high school Mom moved to Minneapolis and lived on the top floor of a really big house with her friend Betty. Rent was $20.00 per month. They shared a double bed, and the bathroom was shared with the entire house. One day Mom went square dancing and met our dad. 1956 brought wedding bells. Before Douglas arrived in 1958, Elaine started caring for babies waiting for adoption through Lutheran Social Services. Over 20+ years our folks cared for over 200 babies! That’s in addition to Eileen, Carl, and Richard. There was always a baby or 2 or 3 in the house. One child was a favorite, Quentin. He and his mother, Debbie, became lifelong friends. When mom retired from this 24/7 job, she started doing daycare. Our folks so enjoyed those children. Whenever mom wasn’t feeding a baby or us, she was sewing, mostly for the bazaars at church. She also took in people’s ironing and cleaned houses in her spare time.

In 1964 we moved to 4905 3rd Av. This was before 35W was finished, so when we started attending St John’s, it was an easy walk up 49th St. Mom always enjoyed bringing neighbors together and loved having a sweet treat with coffee in the afternoon with them. Irene was around often, and Debbie W. came over for coffee just a couple of months ago. Elaine was always at church too. She joined the choir and was proud that she sang in 26 Messiah performances. Last month she attended the concert and shared a score with Granddaughter Emily. Those 2 sopranos really rocked our row during the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus! 59 years at St John’s offered the opportunity to participate in the Mother’s Club, help serve funeral and wedding receptions, be president of WELCA for 10 years and participate in the Missionary Circle. She attended her last meeting in December. She cherished her friendship with all those ladies. Her church life was her 2nd home. She was so grateful that we kids would escort her to church on Sunday mornings.

The grandkids started arriving in 1979 and she loved when they came to visit. It was always a special event to sit around the dining room table with 3 generations.

In 2013 our folks retired from daycare and moved to Richfield into Village Shores Senior Community. They thought their view from the 10th floor was fantastic! All 3 generations added muscle and brains to get the job done. By this time the grandkids were gifting the folks with great-grandkids and mom was simply delighted to hold those precious bundles when they were babies.

Mom never retired from sewing. She developed a quilting hobby and all 4 generations received 1 or 2. Then she started gifting her quilts to the newborn babies at church.

Good memories for Mom were traveling, especially for grandkids graduations on the East and West coasts via car or train. She was proud of their accomplishments and always enjoyed a fun party.

Mom nearly left us on January 2; the same date Dad left us in 2016. She enjoyed Christmas of 2022, then got a bad cold. Her lungs just couldn't handle that virus. The medical equipment got her to January 3, and she passed peacefully that evening. We can’t help but wonder if the suddenness of her passing was just mom accepting a square dance date with Dad.