Eleanor May Niemann

ELEANOR MAY NIEMANN was born October 13, 1913 to Henry and Harriet (Lee) Jones on a farm near Flandreau, SD. She attended rural school through 8th grade and graduated from Flandreau High School in 1931. After graduation she worked for a doctor in Flandreau.

She met her future husband, Raymond Niemann, at a dance in Flandreau, SD. They were united in marriage in San Francisco, CA on October 12, 1941. The couple returned to Minnesota in 1943 and farmed west of Lake Benton. In 1971 they retired from farming and moved into Lake Benton where she resided until moving into the Benton Valley Manor in 2000. In February 2010 she became a resident of the Sunrise Manor Nursing Home in Tyler, MN. Eleanor helped on the farm and was a nurses' aide at the hospital in Tyler. After retirement they enjoyed traveling, especially to Florida and Texas. Eleanor also took a bus tour to New York and the east coast. Her most memorable trip was to England and Wales where she visited relatives and got to see where her father was born and raised. Raymond passed away in 1979. Their marriage was blessed with 3 children – Ronald, Richard and Janice – and 38 years together.

Eleanor was baptized and confirmed in the Methodist faith. She was a member of the Lake Benton United Methodist Church where she held several offices in the UMW, taught Sunday School and Bible School and sang in the choir. She was a member of the Busy Bee Club, Senior Citizens Club and bridge clubs. She loved to dance, play cards, read, travel and visit family and friends.

Eleanor will be lovingly remembered by her children, Ronald (Mary) of Woodbury, MN; Richard (Sherri) of Wesley Chapel, FL and Janice (Darrell) Thomsen of Tyler, MN; 9 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and 6 great-great-grandchildren and many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband Raymond, her parents, and two brothers and sister-in-laws, Lee and Ethel Jones and Ralph and Betty Jones.