Eleanor Ann Williams

Eleanor Ann Williams (nee Thiele), 96, long-time resident of Duluth, MN passed away September 7, 2015 in Las Vegas, NV. She was born August 3, 1919 in rural Hinckley, MN and graduated from Hinckley High, whose annual class reunions she organized for many years. During WWII, she worked for 3M in the Twin Cities and traveled to Smyrna, TN to marry Sgt. Lloyd L. Williams, also from Hinckley, who was stationed there. Following the war, Eleanor and Lloyd moved to Duluth where they raised their family and Lloyd worked as a carpenter for the railroad. When Lloyd retired, they moved to Hermantown, where Eleanor, who loved flowers and was an active member of the Piedmont Heights Garden Club, operated The Village Greenhouse in the spring and summer months. Winters were spent in California with family. As Lloyd’s health declined, Lloyd and Eleanor moved permanently to Las Vegas in 1997, a year before Lloyd passed.

Besides her passion for flowers and gardening, Eleanor loved reading and volunteered at local schools to help children learn to read. She also became an accomplished oil painter, traveled to Europe and Japan, and enjoyed yard sales, visiting a family cabin in Prior Lake, MN and visiting and corresponding with family, friends and relatives. She was a great lady, loved by all who knew her, interested in health topics, and quite disciplined. She loved life and family and felt blessed to live to such an advanced age.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Frederick and Amelia (nee Nickl) Thiele, her brother Frederick (Betty) Thiele, her sisters Irene Reitan (Conrad) and Ida Weber (Mitch), her spouse of 55 years, Lloyd L. Williams, and son, Barry L. Williams (Jan). She is survived by son Lloyd E. Williams (Rosemary) of Las Vegas, NV; daughter Cheryl J. Finney (William) of Clearwater, FL; daughter-in-law Jan A. Williams of South Lake Tahoe, CA; grandchildren Jay Williams (Wendy), Tricia Maldonado (Matt), Rozelle Bhasin (Sandeep), Amelia Ijiri (Takashi), Brenda Pohl (Joshua), John Finney (Sara), Colleen Finney and James Finney; 10 great-grandchildren; Godson Gary Reitan (Cathy) and numerous nieces, nephews and other family members and friends. Funeral services and interment will be in Hinckley, MN. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Make-A-Wish Foundation, www.wish.org.