Ellen Mae Bergmark
Ellen Mae Bergmark, age 90, went to her heavenly home on Sunday, August 16, 2015. Ellen was under hospice care at the Plum City Care Center. She resided in Durand until August 2011 when after a stroke she required special care.
Ellen was born February 27, 1925, in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Her birth parents were John and Alice (Strehl, Liebel) Weigent. When Ellen was 3 years old she was placed in the Sparta Home for Children and later transferred to St. Michael’s Orphanage. At age 6, she visited the home of Frank and Mary Zeilinger, who later adopted her. She lived in Spring Creek and later Dorwin’s Mill area on dairy farms near Durand with her new brother Edward. Her brother, Robert Weigent, lived with the Zeilinger’s to help on the farm during summers while he was residing at St. Michael’s. Ellen was fortunate to learn of all her birth family and maintained contacts with her birth brother and sisters over the years. Ellen attended Oak Hill Country School and then St. Mary’s School through two years of high school. She worked in Durand in a restaurant and also helped her sister in Onalaska with her young children.
Ellen married Harry Bergmark on November 26, 1946 at St. Mary’s Assumption Church in Durand. She raised seven children with Harry on the dairy farm on Big Hill near Pepin. Sunday morning was very busy getting all the children cleaned and dressed for church in Durand. Pictures of Ellen from her childhood often contained chickens. She raised many chickens in the early farming years and sold eggs. Later she tended the flock of heavy chickens raised for eating. Butchering chickens always was a big family event. Ellen learned good cooking and canning skills from her mother, Mary, and over the years she developed many favorite baked goods and canned items. Many of those recipes are used through the year by her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Her love of baking continued at the Care Center where she helped select recipes and used her one good hand and arm to stir batter and decorate cookies. She guided the baking group to make many bars and other treats for the other residents, staff and visitors on many occasions.
Ellen was a member of the homemakers club and worked hard, often with her good friend, neighbor and relative through her husband, Maxine Seyffer, to teach other members skills in many aspects of making great homes for families in the community. Ellen entered flower decorations at the County Fair which earned her honors. Ellen was a member of St. Mary’s Rosary and Alter Society. She also helped teach catechism for St. Felix Church in Wabasha. Ellen loved to travel. She visited Seattle for the World Fair, Chicago for an AMPI conference, Phoenix and Atlanta to visit daughters. Harry and Ellen took road trips into California, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia and saw many states along the way. Ellen traveled to Maine with daughter, Lori. Harry, Ellen and daughter, Betty, traveled through Canada, visited Niagara Falls, Gettysburg and then Monmouth Cave in Kentucky. The highlight of her travels was the trip to Heidelberg, Germany, where daughter, Betty, was stationed, serving in the Army. Husband Harry partly retired from dairy farming by moving off the main farm site to a nearby country home where Ellen continued to garden and make great desserts with the fruit from the apple trees. From this farm home Harry and Ellen moved to Durand. When health issues slowed her travels, Harry and Ellen built a home near the family farm on Big Hill. This nearly weekly retreat also provided a large garden to produce many vegetables for cooking, freezing and canning. She also loved her trips to the casino. Ellen was able to celebrate her 90th birthday with a trip to Treasure Island with daughters and through the special efforts of her loving friend, Amanda Bauer, who helped care for Ellen at PCCC and now resides in Milwaukee.
Family was always Ellen’s focus and dedication. She will be remembered for great country cooking served to family, friends, relatives, everyone who came to help on the farm and the deer hunting groups of the past. She was a talented home decorator and sewed for many years making clothes for her children, costumes and dresses and knit clothing. She also became talented in sewing lingerie.
Ellen is survived by her husband, Harry, also residing at the Plum City Care Center, two sons, John of Menomonie and James (Judy) of Pepin, five daughters, Jean (Joe) Edlin of Stockholm, Betty Bergmark of Durand, Karleen Walton and friend Gary Wyrick of Bayfield, Colorado, Janet Bergmark and friend Tim Fagerstrom of St. Paul, Minnesota and Lori (Laura) Bergmark of Woodbury, Minnesota. Ellen is also survived by four grandchildren, Joshua Walton of Bayfield, Colorado, Natasha Walton of Denver, Colorado, Tony Edlin of Stockholm and Todd Edlin of Mankato, Minnesota. Ellen has many nieces and nephews from her two families. Ellen is survived by her half-sister, Janice (Harold) Cleary.
Ellen was preceded in death by her parents, John and Alice Weigent and Frank and Mary Zeilinger, brothers, Robert Weigent and Edward Zeilinger, sisters Sister Joseph Paul, Lorraine Lawrence, Beverly Petruske, half-brother Eugene Liebel, brothers-in-law, George Lawrence, John Petruske and Harold Cleary, sister-in-law, Leona Zeilinger, and son-in-law Scott Walton.
Funeral Mass will be 11:00 AM Friday, August 21, 2015 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Durand. Rev. Paul Bosco will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5-8PM Thursday at the Rhiel Funeral Home in Durand and one hour prior to services at the church on Friday.
Rhiel Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Durand, is serving the family.
Condolences may be made online at www.rhielfuneralhome.com.
