Benhardt (Bennard) Ingaman ELLINGBOE

1919 - 2004  (84 years)

• Name	Benhardt (Bennard) Ingaman ELLINGBOE
  Birth	14 Aug 1919	Northfield, Rice County, Minnesota
  	Other sources incorrectly show his birth date as April 14th.
  Gender	Male
  Baptism	14 Sep 1919	Vang Lutheran Church, Dennison, Goodhue County, Minnesota
  	as Bernhardt Ingeman
  Confirmation	17 Sep 1933	Vang Lutheran Church, Dennison, Goodhue County, Minnesota
  Minnesota Birth Certificate	1919-26794
  Minnesota Death Certificate	2004-MN-007044
  Death	23 Feb 2004	Cannon Falls, Goodhue County, Minnesota
  Burial	28 Feb 2004	Wangen Prairie Cemetery, Warsaw Twp, Goodhue County, Minnesota
  	78 SN 25
  Notes	Shown as Bennard Ingaman Ellingboe is his kids’ birth certificates. Shown as Bennard I. on his gravestone. WWII Veteran of the 45th Thunderhead Div, 157th Infantry Co. Obit from the Faribault Daily news, February 27, 2004 edition: Bennard Ellingboe NORTHFIELD -- Bennard Ellingboe, age 84 of Cannon Falls and formerly of Dennison, died Monday, Feb. 23, 2004, at the Emergency Room of the Cannon Falls Hospital. He died while attending a friend’s funeral at the Wangen Prairie church. Funeral Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Dennison Lutheran Church in Dennison. Burial at the Wangen Prairie Cemetery with full military honors. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Bierman Funeral Home in Northfield. His obit in the Northfield News: Bennard I. Ellingboe was born on Aug. 14, 1919, in the quaint rural town of Dennison located in Rice County. His parents were Anna Svien Ellingboe and John Ellingboe. He died while attending a friends funeral at Wangen Prairie Church, on Feb. 23, 2004. The funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. today at Dennison Lutheran Church, and the burial will follow at Wangen Prairie cemetery. Visitation was from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Bennards favorite funeral home, Bierman Funeral Home. Bennard grew up on the Ellingboe family farm in Dennison. He attended school in the area. He worked on his parents farm until the age 22, when he was drafted into the Army and served in World War II. He served in the 45th Thunderbird Division, infantry, and bravely fought in three major battles -- Sicily, Anzio Beachhead and the march through Italy to capture Rome. By the end of the capture of Rome, Bennard was one of a few in his battalion of soldiers to survive. The Battalion was disbanded. He then transferred to France, where he worked in the 1203 Engineers fire department. He finally returned home to the Dennison area in September 1945. During his tour in Europe, Bennard wrote letters to his girlfriend, Evelyn Frettem, back home. Bennard and Evelyn married on July 28, 1946, at Wangen Prairie Church. Bennard and Evelyn bought a former church parsonage in Dennison and raised their four children -- John, Paul, Helen and James. Bennard and Evelyn spent 50-plus years in Dennison until moving to Cannon Falls in 2001. Bennard took advantage of the GI bill after returning from the Army and became an apprentice painter. He worked with Paul Kinsella, a local Northfield paint contractor. He was also self-employed for a time. He later went to work as a painter for Carleton College and for Sheldahl. However, he spent most of his painting career painting the dorms, homes and buildings owned by St. Olaf College. Bennard admirably chose to work for St. Olaf in 1961, so that his children would receive free college tuition at a Lutheran College. Bennard was a member of the Vang Lutheran Church in Dennison before his marriage. He was a member of Dennison Lutheran Church since 1946. He served on the Church Council for many years. Bennard and Evelyn fondly attended and ate at all of the lutefisk suppers in Goodhue and Rice county churches. Bennard also served on the Dennison City Council. He was a member of the Sons of Norway, the VFW, and, of course, an active member in the Dennison Birthday Club. Bennard will be remembered for helping neighbors with getting their mail and helping them out whenever they needed it. He also helped Evelyn care for his mother-in-law for several years. Bennard had a great sense of humor! He loved to tell stories, often more than once. He and Evelyn attended practically every funeral of every friend and every relative since they were married. They had great conversations at every social event. Bennard and Evelyn truly appreciated the friendship of so many in the area, but especially the close friendship of Gene and Joyce Schrader and Dale Lilleskov. Bennards good pal, Orie Ims, provided hours and hours of political conversations. Bennard was an excellent gardener. He enjoyed planting flowers on all the graves of family members each spring with Evelyn. They would take water in plastic containers and make sure each plant on the graves was watered when it had not rained. Bennard could make a seemingly dead plant spring back to life and bloom. This was analogous of Bennards ability to survive lifes obstacles thrown his way. Bennard was a real survivor: World War II, lutefisk and meatball suppers, fumes of latex, oil-based, and epoxy paint, diabetes and all those close calls with death from 1991 to Christmas 2003. On Thanksgiving Day, 2003, Bennard had a heart attack while still managing to accompany his grandchildren to "A Cat in the Hat," movie before agreeing to go United Hospital. Bennard survived several heart attacks, a stroke, bypass grafts, stents and finally a pacemaker. He took so many medications at the end that he had developed a close personal relationship with the pharmacist at Medicap in Northfield. Bennard is survived by his children: John (Linda), of Seattle, Wash.; Paul (Bonnie), of Plymouth; Helen Jones, of Sioux Falls, S.D. and James, of Cannon Falls; grandchildren: Cindy (husband Steve) and Kristin, of Seattle, Wash.; Meggan and Mason, of Plymouth; Jacob, Julia, and Jessica, of Grand Forks, N.D.; niece Elsa Frettem, of St. Paul and her friend Bernard Gonzales, and nephew, Peter Frettem, of Cannon Falls. Bennard was preceded in death by his wife, Evelyn Ellingboe, August 10, 2003; father and mother, John and Anna Ellingboe; brother and sister-in-law, Myron and Ada Ellingboe; and brother Arnold Ellingboe. Contributions in Bennards memory would be appreciated to Dennison Lutheran Church, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, or the Minnesota DFL Party. From a letter to the editor of the Cannon Falls Beacon, dated July 13, 2004: As the Fourth of July weekend approaches, I can’t help think about my recently deceased grandpa, Ben Ellingboe, who lived in Cannon Falls, and his love for politics. The many parades this weekend will undoubtedly bring politicians and their staff to towns all over Minnesota. As a Bronze Star veteran from World War II, Ben would have wanted everyone to thank the veterans who make peace possible and vote for those politicians who won’t cut funding from veteran’s health care programs. Mason Ellingboe The 1953 Northfield city directory shows him as “employee, Carleton College.” The 1955 city directory shows him as “painter, Carleton College.” The 1959 Northfield city directory shows him as “painter, Paul J. Kinsella” and living in Dennison, MN. The 1968, 1970, and 1972 city directories show him as “painter, St. Olaf College” and living in Dennison.
  Person ID	I3224	Don Carlson's Tree
  Last Modified	10 Mar 2022

  
  

  Father	John Iversson ELLINGBOE,   b. 1 Jan 1882, Warsaw Twp, Goodhue County, Minnesota d. 11 Nov 1944, Northfield, Rice County, Minnesota (Age 62 years)
  Mother	Anna R (Annie) SVIEN,   b. 24 Jun 1885, Minnesota d. 9 Apr 1978, Rice County, Minnesota (Age 92 years)
  Marriage	21 Feb 1906	Holden Twp, Goodhue County, Minnesota
  Family ID	F2146	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Evelyn Thelma FRETTEM,   b. 14 Oct 1920, Goodhue County, Minnesota d. 10 Aug 2003, Cannon Falls, Goodhue County, Minnesota (Age 82 years)
  Marriage	28 Jun 1946	Goodhue County, Minnesota
  	MOMS
  Family ID	F2189	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	6 May 2021