Eleanor Vera Mordhorst passed away May 9, 2011 at Regency Harbor Care in Oak Harbor at the age of 94. She was born June 3, 1916 in Wilson Creek, Wash., to Harry and Rose Hirschel. Her mother passed away early in her life and she and her older brother were raised by her father and grandfather on the family farm near Wilson Creek. She told stories about helping with the farm work and driving teams of horses. Her aunts, Clara Mordhorst and Esther Dohrn, played a significant role as the female influences in her life.
She attended Wilson Creek country schools and graduated from Wilson Creek High School. She then attended Kinman Business School in Spokane and the University of Washington, Seattle, focusing on business studies.
In 1937 she married Boyd Mordhorst, also of Wilson Creek, and they started their married life in Grangeville, Idaho, where their only child, Rawson, was born. They moved to Bremerton during World War II and then to Ephrata after the war where they made their home for about 61 years.
Using her business education, she worked in the Grant County State Bank and later partnered with her husband, Boyd, working together to build an insurance business in Ephrata until their retirement. She managed the family’s farm properties and business interests after her husband’s death in 1998.
Eleanor had many interests and abilities. She was a member of the Garden Club and had a showplace garden and yard with seasonal flowers of roses, iris, tulips, daffodils, peonies, lilies and chrysanthemums. She used these flower to create altar arrangements and for special occasions for the Methodist Church for many years.
She loved music and had a beautiful singing voice. She was a member of the Methodist Church choir for many years, participating in Choir Caper productions and offering special solo music.
She gave her time and talents to many organizations including the United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, P. E. O. of which she was a member for over 50 years, and the Grant County Historical Society.
She loved to embroider, cross stitch, knit and crochet. She was interested in textile and tole painting and produced many plaques, table cloths, napkins and towels. She loved to collect chinaware and glassware and figurines. She was an avid reader of novels and did (and completed) daily crossword puzzles.
She was an excellent cook and her goal was to try a new recipe each week. She could make the best pies with wonderful flaky crusts. Cookies and other delights were always available for visitors to enjoy. Her grandchildren always knew where the cookie jar was located. She enjoyed canning many types of fruits, jams and jellies, and pickles. She said it was fun and the array of completed products always gave her a real sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
Her extended family was very important to her, especially her brother’s children, Marilyn and Ken Saunders, Bob and Phebe Hirschel, Judy and Bruce Robinson and Linda and Jim Ray, cousins Maxine and Lyle Kerns and Dorothy and Fred Warras, and sister-in-law, Gloria Bloom, in Ellensburg, as well as nieces and nephews Doug Bloom, Fred Bloom, Karen Duffy, Ed Harrison and Kathy Beretich. She loved them all and they were kind and caring to her throughout her life.
She is survived by her son Rawson and wife Margaret Mordhorst of Oak Harbor; granddaughters Liesl Mordhorst of Seattle and Heather and husband Tony Seman of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; and great-grandsons Aedan and Kyle Seman. She was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Boyd Mordhorst, and a brother, Howard Hirschel.
Memorial services were held May 19 at the Ephrata United Methodist Church. Memorials may be made to the Ephrata United Methodist Church, to P.E.O., or your favorite charity. Arrangements entrusted to Wallin Funeral Home, Oak Harbor.
