(Leslie) Elaine Walton

(Leslie) Elaine Walton, age 74, of Rush City, Minn., passed away early Friday morning Oct.11, 2002 in her sleep at home after a lengthy struggle with diabetes, congestive heart failure and emphysema.
Funeral Services were held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 16, 2002 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rush City, Minn. with Father Xavier officiating.
Arrangements by the Funeral and Cremation Service of Rush City Olson Chapel.
Elaine Anna, known to family and friends as Leslie, was born on May 31, 1928 to Joseph and Anna Welcing in Chicago, Illinois. She was the second of three children, with an older brother Robert and a younger sister, Arlene.
Leslie graduated from high school in Chicago, Illinois, when she was 16 years old. She worked various jobs for the next few years, one of them being at the Wrigley Gum factory in Chicago, Illinois making and packaging gum for servicemen overseas. She eventually moved to the Twin Cities where she met the love of her life, Howard. Leslie moved to Rush City in 1947 when she married Howard Walton on Oct. 1, 1947.
Howard and Leslie lived on a small farm west of Rush City for the next few years. Howard was working at the Amber Mill while Leslie was busy raising their first three daughters. In 1954 they bought a farm east of town and had a fourth daughter. In 1964 their fifth daughter came to them in the manner of a special beloved niece.
In 1971, Leslie started working at the Rush City Hospital in the housekeeping department. She worked there until 1977.
In 1980 Howard and Leslie bought and moved back to their old family farm west of Rush City. Leslie was working at the Cambridge Hospital doing housekeeping. She retired in 1989 and continued to stay in touch with her many friends and co-workers by way of get together ìluncheonsî every month or so.
Leslie enjoyed a wide variety of things from playing cards, bowling, cooking, knitting and crocheting. She entered many items in the county fairs. Before her hands and eyesight got too bad she made a special effort to complete afghans and dolls for her daughters and grandchildren, taking pride in choosing colors and styles special to each one. Leslie loved to bake bread and was well known by family and friends for her homemade bread and secret spaghetti sauce. She finally passed along a few of her special secret recipes for the next generation to enjoy. For years Leslie had an impressive garden with strawberries with which she made into pies and jams.
Over the years Leslie made many friends through her participation in the Sacred Heart Church Auxiliary and the VFW Auxiliary. In 1972, Leslie became a grandmother for the first time. Her five daughters got busy then and over the next four years, blessed her eight more times, giving her six grandsons and three granddaughters. Over time, with extended family, she gained four more granddaughters. Then in 1995, she was blessed with her first of eight great-grandchildren.
She is survived by husband Howard, daughters Patricia (James) West of Rush City; Barbara (Jerry) Peterson of Zimmerman; JoAnn (Duane) Swanson of Pine City; Jo Dee (John) Larson of Minong, Wisc.; Connie (Loren) Olson of Rush City, Minn; 13 grandchildren: Jennifer and Jason West; David (Lida) and Daniel (Christina) Dahnke; Jeremy Carlson and Amanda (Jon) Zemek, Sheldon and Jessica Grant; Brian (Juliana) Swagger; Heather Lynn Roberts, Janelle, Holly and Heather Marie Peterson; eight great-grandchildren: Elizabeth West, Mason Dahnke; Chase Peterson, Alexander, Jarrett and Arica Zemek, Brian and Kelly Swagger; sister Arlene (James) Wedge of Georgia, Aunt Helen Rzeczlowski of Illinois; sisters-in-law, Barbara and Donna Walton; nieces and nephews.
Preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Anna Welcing, parents-in-law, George and Pearl (Carlson) Walton, brother Robert and sister-in-law Muriel Welcing; son-in-law, Jerry Grant; brothers-in-law George, Larry and Robert Walton, Donald Alguire, Clayton Green, Eric Brostrom; sisters-in-law, Irene Alguire, Ora Green, Bernice Brostrom.

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