Elnora Fern Sandager

Hills, MN Elnora Ellie Sandager, age 87 of Hills, MN died Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at the Tuff Memorial Home in Hills, MN. Funerals service will be 2:00 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 18th at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hills, MN, with Rev. Mahlon Bekedam officiating. Burial will follow at Flowerfield Cemetery, rural Hills, MN. Visitation will be Friday, Jan. 17th from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m., with family present from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Jurrens Funeral Home of Hills. Also, there will be a time of sharing memories at 7:00 p.m. Friday evening at the funeral home. Elnora Fern Sandager was born on December 21, 1926, the daughter of John and Gertie (Hyronimus) Henke in rural Lennox, SD. She grew up in Lennox, SD and attended Lincoln County School. Elnora then received her nursing degree from Sioux Valley School of Nursing. On July 6, 1947, Elnora was united in marriage to Sheldon Sandager in Sioux Falls, SD. They made their home in Hills, MN and also lived in Herrick, SD for a time. The couple did missionary work in Ethiopia from 1965 to 1967, and agricultural and nursing work in Tanzania from 1974 to 1976 and Ghana from 1981 to 1986. Elnora worked as a nurse at the Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD for a while but was a farm wife most of her married life. She was a member of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church and the Hills American Legion Auxiliary and the Sioux Valley School of Nursing Alumni Association. She enjoyed traveling, cooking and entertaining family and friends. She was famous for her Ellie Stories , where she would meet people she knew who had a connection to someone else she knew wherever she went. She was an avid tennis player and most recently enjoyed playing Word Feud with her children and grandchildren via her Ipad. She will be greatly missed. Elnora is survived by her husband of sixty-six years, Sheldon Sandager of Hills, MN; five children, Elizabeth Sandager of Sioux Falls SD, Robert Charlie (Dawn) Sandager of Hills, Eugene Pucky (Shirley) Sandager of Hills, Joyce Jo (Floyd) Wulf of Herrick SD, and Mike (Nancy) Sandager of Hills; thirteen grandchildren, Sheldon (Des) Norton, Carolyn (Jim) Starzl, Tarah Huston, Andrew (Ashley) Norton, Katie (Justin) Arndt, Lucas Sandager, Aaron (friend, Melissa) Sandager, Brittany Sandager, Brianna Sandager, Becca Sandager, Maleeka (Ethan) Rozeboom, Nick Sandager and Kelly Sandager; six great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Gertie Henke Knock; and stepfather, Herman Knock. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred.