Eleanor Schember, 1928-2015

Published 9:26 am Monday, May 18, 2015

A celebration of life service for Eleanor V. Schember will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Salem Lutheran Church in Albert Lea. The Rev. Mark Niethammer will officiate. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.

Eleanor passed away on Saturday, May 16, 2015, at Hidden Creek Estates in Albert Lea. She was 87.

Eleanor Schember

Eleanor V. (Fischer) Schember was born on Feb. 19, 1928, to Jacob and Rose (Nagel) Fischer on the Standing Rock Reservation in McLaughlin, South Dakota. Eleanor was baptized and confirmed into the Christian faith. The family moved to the New Richland area where she graduated high school.

Eleanor married Arnold J. Schember on Nov. 28, 1947, in New Richland. To this union two children were born, Norell and Danny. Eleanor worked at Streater as a key punch operator. She worked there until her retirement in 1993, when Streater awarded her with a grandfather clock.

Eleanor was an active and faithful member of Salem Lutheran Church. She was the original director of the Cherub Choir, was a Sunday school teacher, a part of Luther League, a counselor at Bible camp, was on the church council and sang in the church choir. She was also a godparent to three special people, Troy Hall, Skipper Willete and Kim Luhring. Eleanor also volunteered at St. John’s Lutheran Community, the American Red Cross and was on the board for Spire and Youth for Christ. In her free time Eleanor enjoyed going to rummage sales and looking for the best bargains. She loved to collect angels. As she downsized her home she donated her entire angel collection to Youth for Christ.

Eleanor is survived by her daughter, Norell (James) Durfee, of Minnesota Lake and their family Amy Anne (Brian) Thomas and their children Eva, Gabriel and Levi, Heidi (Christopher) Wood-Olson and their children Rose and Ryder, Shelby Durfee and Bryce Durfee; her son, Danny (Valerie) Schember, of Ellendale and their family Summer (Wayne) Schultz and their children Cody, Arianna, Elijah and namesake, Ava Eleanor, and Brian Schember; a sister, Ruth Fischer, of Ellendale; special friends Anne Hermanson-Smith and Randy Sorenson; as well as many other loving nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Arnold; two sisters; four brothers; and a son in-law, Dean Wood.

In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to Salem Lutheran Church Youth Fund.

The family would like to thank the staff at Hidden Creek Estates and the Mayo Clinic Health Systems Hospice staff for their care and compassion shown towards Eleanor.