Ellen Emma Denholm

Ellen Emma Denholm, 92 of Webster died on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at Bethesda Home in Webster. Her funeral will be at 1:00 P.M. Saturday, November 23, 2013 at Fiksdal Funeral Chapel in Webster, Rev. Jan FitzGibbon will officiate. Burial will take place at a later date. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Friday, 5-7 P.M. and one hour prior to services on Saturday. Ellen Emma Brown was born on Monday, June 13, 1921 at home near Buffalo Lake, South Dakota to Walter E. Brown and Lydia (Johnson) Brown. She was delivered by her mid-wife grandmother. She attended high school in Sisseton where she learned to sew and exceled to the point of winning an award. Later in her life she worked for Dakotah Incorporated in Webster making beautiful quilts and bed and bath products. Ellen met Leonard Denholm when she and Leonard were both employed by Ellen’s uncle Glen Brown. They were married on August 25, 1939. The union lasted 27 years. The first house Ellen & Leonard lived in was in Sisseton. Later they moved to a farm in the Andover area. Ellen was by her husband’s side helping in the fields on G.P. John Deere tractor and making fence. Eventually they moved to a farm near Webster for the family to be near Webster schools. She managed the farm by Webster alone when her marriage to Leonard ended. She married again to Clem Kreitel in the mid 70’s and spent each year between Aberdeen and her beloved farm house on the farm near Webster. He passed away in 2001. After his death she moved into assisted living in Webster and entered Bethesda Home in 2004. Ellen’s pride and joy were her children. She bought a piano when her first set of twins were six years old and wanted her children to take music lessons . She wanted every one of her children to know how to swim. As a young girl she had become afraid of water when her family crossed a frozen Buffalo Lake in a horse drawn grain box which fell through the ice. She sat through countless swimming classes with all of her children so they could know how to swim. Another thing Ellen loved to do was spell. She liked to boast of a spelling contest she won a portrait as a prize. She liked playing whist and dancing. She liked to tell about a train trip she took with her twin boys when they were 26 months old to the shipyards in San Fransisco to see their father who was working in the shipyards welding at the time. All the passengers on the train were soldiers who helped with the boys. She later made coats from and old military uniform and a white rabbit coat for her son Arby and daughter Twyla. Ellen passed away peacefully on Nov. 19, 2013 at Bethesda Home in Webster, South Dakota at the age of 92 years, 5 months and 6 days. Ellen is survived by eight children James (Kathleen) Denholm of Rapid City, SD, Jerry (Melva) Denholm of Omaha, NE, Twyla (Larry) Barron of Sioux Falls, SD, Arby (Jacki) Denholm of Granbury, TX, Scott Denholm of Sioux Falls, SD, Danny Denholm of Bellevue, NE, Rocky Denholm of Sioux Falls, SD and Ila Denholm of Webster, SD; one brother, Dan (Lila) Brown of Sisseton, SD; 20 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren. She lost a son(Benny) and twin daughters(Linda and Lonna) in infancy. She was preceded in death by her second husband, a son, Benny, twin daughters, Linda and Lonna in infancy, four brothers, Walter Brown Jr., Russell Brown, Phillip Brown, Lloyd Brown and two sisters, Ruth Stake and Doris Schmaus.