Eleanor A. Bagstad

Eleanor Ann (Everson) Bagstad went to be with her Lord and Savior in the early morning hours of Tuesday, December 20th, 2022, surrounded by her family.  Eleanor had just celebrated her 89th birthday.  She was born on December 10, 1933 to Milton and Anna (Kirkeeng) Everson, and was baptized and confirmed at Fish Creek Lutheran Church, Rockland, Wisconsin.

As a youngster, her father insisted that she should take piano lessons and she was a very willing student.  She loved playing piano and used that skill throughout her life up to her last days at Maplewood.  She graduated from Sparta High School in 1951.  Eleanor knew from a young age that she wanted to be a teacher, and her dream came true when she graduated from Vernon County Normal School in 1953.  She also earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Education at the University of Wisconsin- LaCrosse. She taught at several one-room schools including Clements, Woodard, Brinkman Ridge, and Oium.  She then transitioned to Coon Valley Elementary School where she taught both daughters in 3rd grade.  Eleanor retired on May 26, 1995 after completing 38 years as an educator.  She often said, if she had it to do over, she would definitely be a teacher!  She loved her students and her students loved her!

She married the love of her life, Tilford (Tip) Bagstad at Coon Valley Lutheran Church on June 2, 1956.  They enjoyed 66 years of marriage and often talked about how blessed they were.  Eleanor’s life was guided by her faith and she was an active member of the Ruth Circle, Ladies Aid, any committees that needed assistance, and singing in the Choir along with her husband Tip, at Coon Valley Lutheran Church, where they seldom missed a service.

Together, Eleanor and Tip traveled extensively throughout the US, Canada, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and several trips to Norway.

Her Norwegian Heritage was very important to her and Eleanor and Tip were Lifetime Members and volunteered countless hours at Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center which was a few short miles from their home.  She assisted with traditional Norwegian baking and spent many hours working with the kitchen crew preparing food for Old Fashioned Christmas, the Threshing Bee, Midsummer celebration, and “Always on Sunday” programs.   She received multiple recognition awards for her hundreds of hours of volunteer service.  After a Norskedalen Board Meeting in 1982, Eleanor, her husband Tip (who had recently taught himself to play the fiddle), and Beatrice Olson, who played the accordion, were asked to provide some musical entertainment; and the Norskedalen Trio was born!  That brought them so much joy as they were invited to play for wedding dances, anniversary and birthday parties, Senior Living Centers, Scandinavian festivals throughout the Midwest, boat cruises, and bus tours to Norskedalen.  They also led a tour to Norway in 1984, where they provided music for a traditional wedding processional and dance.  In 1998, they were recruited by the Wisconsin Fine Arts Board, to represent Wisconsin at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC., playing their traditional Norwegian Old Time Music.  They provided the music for the Westby Syttende Mai Kick Off Breakfast for many, many years and helped to organize the annual Old Time Music Show.  Eleanor and Tip were selected to be Syttende Mai Parade Marshals in 2006.  Pearl Whistler and Lois Olson also joined the trio in later years.

Eleanor loved flowers and gardening.  She especially loved her eight-foot-tall Hollyhocks and all her perennial gardens.  She canned extensively and was an exceptional cook and baker…especially her bread and cinnamon rolls every weekend, and luscious pies and Scandinavian baked treats.  She was an avid organizer with countless scrapbooks, photo albums, and memory books.

But most of all, Eleanor loved spending time with her family.  Eleanor and Tip had two daughters - Bonnie (Mark) Anderson, and Kimberly Burke and fiancé Glen Newkirk; five grandchildren – Nicholas (Shannon) Anderson, Natalie (fiancé Dillon Geiger), Abigail (friend Dillon Parks), Allison Burke, and Braden Burke; and two great-grandchildren, Lily and Wade Anderson.  Eleanor had endless patience and encouraged curiosity and play in her kids and grandkids.  She loved teaching them to bake and cook, and joining her family in hiking the hills, watching the kids creek stomp, ice skate, and snow tube at the family cabin in Timber Coulee.  She loved preparing for family celebrations and if you went home from Grandma’s house hungry, it was your own fault!

Eleanor is also survived by two brothers – Howard (Beverly) and James (Lynda) Everson; three sisters-in-law – Judean, Lorraine, and Joan Everson; one brother-in-law – Clinton (Beverly) Bagstad; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters – Luella (Marvin) Galstad and Hazel (Virgil) Lee; five brothers – Arthur (in infancy), Lloyd (Ruth), Spencer, Sigurd, and Robert Everson; and in-laws Arthur and Anna Bagstad.

Eleanor’s family would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Pastor Julie Wollman, Pastor Trevor Skrede, and the staff from Maplewood Terrace Assisted Living, St. Croix Hospice, and Seland’s Funeral Home for your gentle, prompt, and compassionate care and support for our dear mom, dad, and for the entire family.  God Bless you all!

December has always been mom’s favorite month, and we are comforted knowing that she is celebrating Christmas in Heaven with God and all those who have gone before her!  Blessed be her memory!

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am, Wednesday December 28, 2022 at the Coon Valley Lutheran Church. Burial will be in the church cemetery. A visitation will be held from 5-7 pm, Tuesday at the Seland Funeral Home in Coon Valley and at the church on Wednesday from 10 am until service time. Condolences may be given at selandsfuneralhome.com.

Memorials in Eleanor’s honor may be designated to Coon Valley Lutheran Church Building Fund, or the Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center.