Elden Harris Banitt

Elden Harris Banitt, age 83, of Woodbury, MN, passed away on December 29, 2020, after gracefully enduring six years of Parkinson’s Disease. He is survived by Kay Starz Banitt, his devoted wife of 61 years, as well as children Lynn Clark (Roger) and Lee Banitt (Darcy Zotter).

He was the loving grandpa of Tracey Serrentino, Jacob Banitt, Amanda Hockemeyer, and Robyn Clark. He recently became great-grandpa to Ryan Banitt. Other family members left to cherish his memory include his sister Verleen Buck (Ken) and six nieces and nephews. Elden was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Emilie Banitt and sisters Ardelle Matthees (John) and Deyonne Broin (Mel).

Elden was born on April 7, 1937 in Red Wing, MN. He attended Zumbrota High School, St. Olaf College (BA Chemistry), and University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD Organic Chemistry). Upon completing his education, he and Kay moved to Woodbury, where they lived for 55 years. He worked as a medicinal research chemist at Riker Labs (later 3M Pharmaceuticals) for 34 years. After being awarded numerous patents for innovative research and discovering the cardiac medicine Tambocor®, Elden was inducted into the 3M’s prestigious Carlton Society.

Outside of work, Elden had many and varied interests, but he was first and foremost a family man. He was a caring father, never missing a ballgame or piano recital. He threw endless baseballs in the back yard, led numerous annual camping trips around the country, and was a consistent presence in the lives of his children. Elden was also a loyal husband, married to his college sweetheart in August of 1959, and her constant companion thereafter. Some of his travel plans were derailed by Parkinson’s Disease, but not before he and Kay traveled to Europe, the holy land, Australia, and New Zealand. He took fantastic photos that documented family events and was once published in National Geographic.

In addition to having a vibrant and loving family life, Elden was actively engaged in his Woodbury community. He served as treasurer and sang in the choir at Woodbury Lutheran Church, as well as helping with his children’s scouting activities and sports teams. He rode his bicycle daily for many years and enjoyed cross-country skiing, golf, chess and reading history books.

Elden’s family offers their heartfelt thanks to the staff at St. Therese of Woodbury for the capable and supportive care they provided, treating Elden and Kay as family members. Their daily kindness will always be remembered.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Therese of Woodbury (https://www.sainttherese.org/get-involved/give) or Woodbury Lutheran Church (https://www.woodburylutheran.org/giving/). A celebration of Elden's life is planned for a future date when COVID restrictions allow us to gather safely.

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