Elsie Erickson

Elsie Erickson, of Mondovi, passed away early Monday morning at the American Lutheran Home, Mondovi. Elsie was born to George & Esther Jutila on April 21, 1934 on the Jutila farm in Kintyre, ND. She grew up with 4 brothers and 1 sister. She only spoke Finn until she began attending school in a one room schoolhouse. The farm was always filled with family-extra cousins, hired farm helpers etc. and Elsie helped with all of the cooking, cleaning and taking care of the younger kids. She also had her share of fun. She was a good horsewoman and could shoot a gun as well as any of her brothers. One time when she was mad at some of them, she had them hiding in the outhouse while she was holding her gun. When she was 10 she helped her mid-wife grandma deliver her youngest brother Ed, into the world. Elsie loved music and to dance. She once said she would have liked to have been a figure skater. Because she took great pride in her appearance, she was often the last one of the group to be ready to go out for a night of dancing and fun. All of this earned her the Finnish nickname of “Mia” which was a slang term for queen or “one in charge”. Elsie married Clarence Aarestad in 1952, had four children and in 1962 the family moved to MN where the kids were raised. In 1986 Elsie married Aliver Erickson and lived on their tree/hobby farm until she moved to Mondovi with her daughter, Wanda in 2005. Elsie loved her family and many of the kids, nieces (& dogs) lived with her at different times when they needed a place to stay. She loved to garden, to be outdoors in the sunshine and spending time with her 7 grandchildren- Travis (Kelly) Snowbank, Kelly (Scott) Wertz, Jolene (Jason) Grubner, Cari (Joe) Gjbedjangni, Hansel Kiekbusch, Amanda & Adam Neumann. She was blessed to have 9 great grandchildren- Delilah & Brody Snowbank, Tarryn, Megan & Tyler Wertz, Allyson Grubner, and Anabelle, Dominick & Brandon Gjbedjangni, Preceded in death by her Parents, George & Esther Jutila, brother Donald, husband Aliver Erickson, son-in-law Kenneth Neumann, grandson Joshua Aarestad and her beloved dog, Sarge. Survived by brothers Vernon (Annetta), Raymond (Gail), Edward (Sharon) and sister Helen (Jack Roth). Her children Alan Aarestad (Mondovi WI), Carol Neumann (Champlin MN), Wanda Maranowicz (Mondovi WI) and Boyd Aarestad (Cumberland WI). Elsie had 7 grandchildren & 9 great grandchildren. A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, March 18, 2017 at 12:00 Noon at Talbot Family Funeral Homes, Mondovi with a visitation one hour prior to the service. Chaplin Gary Preston will be officiating the service.