Eleanor Asmus

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Obituary

Eleanor Asmus, 88, of Mitchell, SD, passed away Sunday, July 9, 2023, at Avery Brady Health and Rehab in Mitchell. Funeral services will be 10:30 AM Saturday, July 22, at First Lutheran Church in Mitchell. Burial will be at Graceland Cemetery in Mitchell. Visitation will be Friday from 5-7:00 PM at Bittner Funeral Chapel.

A livestream of the funeral service can be viewed on First Lutheran’s website: https://www.mitchellfirstlutheran.org/

Eleanor Jean Hollaway Asmus was born December 16, 1934, in Fairbury, NE to Earle Hollaway and Cecile Leona (Mentzer) Hollaway. She was baptized at the Methodist Church in Brookings, and grew up in a house at 115 West 4th street (she said she always loved living there), sharing a room with her sister Leona until she married. She had fun roller skating and playing the cello, and graduated from Brookings High School.

She met the love of her life, Alvin Asmus, when he began building bridges for her father’s company “Hollaway Construction” in 1953. They were married at the Methodist Parsonage in Lake Benton, MN on June 19, 1954, and traveled widely throughout South Dakota, setting up their trailer wherever Alvin was building a bridge.

In 1969, Eleanor, Alvin, and her sister Leona and husband Walter Wobbema bought the business from Cecile, after Earle had passed away in 1967. In 1977 they split the business into two separate companies. Eleanor served as an officer of the corporation and was the sole bookkeeper from 1969 until its final sale in 2015.

Eleanor and Alvin moved to Mitchell in 1962 with their children. They built their 1st home in 1965 on East 5th, part of “Bridle Acres”. Eleanor taught the kids and friends how to be a dynamic, fun member and leader of a community and neighborhood. She was part of the Longfellow PTA, always volunteering for the “School Carnival”, “Helping Hands” program, and the new “Hot Lunch” program. She also assisted with both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops. She and Alvin helped with the neighborhood “Bridle Acres” pool cleanup each year and the weekly “Teen Nights”. They hosted many neighborhood and family coffee gatherings and parties! They were members of Zion Lutheran Church and later First Lutheran Church, she helped with Vacation Bible School each year when the children were little. In their spare time they loved to dance at The Elks Lodge, play cards with their wide circle of friends, attend Kernel games, and watch their children’s and grandchildren’s events.

After Alvin’s death in 2005, Eleanor joined or hosted friends whenever possible for afternoons of cards, quilting, and dessert. She loved dogs and had a house dog for most of her life. She was happiest when everyone was together. In a memory journal it asked, “what word best describes your life?” She answered: “LOVE”, “The love of a wonderful Husband, The love of my children, the love of my grandchildren, the love of my parents, and the love of my sister.”

In January 2023, Eleanor moved to Avera Brady Health and Rehab for health reasons. She welcomed visitors, especially if they brought little ones, and was always interested in others.

Eleanor is survived by her children: son Michael (Debbie Heindel) Asmus of Mitchell; daughter Sheri Asmus (Ian) Dyer of Oviedo, FL; son James (Jim) Asmus of Sioux Falls; and daughter-in-law Denise (Martin) Asmus of Mitchell; nine grandchildren: Jessica (Craig) Haugaard, Matt (Brittany) Spieler, Kelsey (Clint) Range, Kaitlyn (Joel) Van Peursem, Eric (Chelsea Tripp) Asmus, Heather (Chad) Wieczorek; Alex (Haley Stahl) Asmus; Jillian (Dyer) Vogler (Matt) Vogler, and AmyJane Dyer; seven great-grandchildren; sister Leona Wiersma of Shell Knob, MO; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Alvin; son, Alan Asmus in 2013; and her parents.

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