Eleanor "Toots" Janet Thompson

Eleanor J. “Toots” Thompson, age 91, of Parkers Prairie, formerly of Bloomington, died surrounded by her family on Monday, September 2, 2024, at St. Williams Living Center.

 A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at Esther Lutheran Church in Eastern Township with Rev. Ben Dyrhaug officiating. Music is provided by organist, Marcia Guenther and violinist, Anna Hagen. Interment is at the church cemetery. 

Visitation is 5-8 p.m., Friday, at Lind Family Funeral Home in Alexandria and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.

Eleanor Janet was born on January 14, 1933, to Albert and Ethel (Johnson) Hedlund in Eagle Bend. She was baptized and confirmed at Esther Lutheran Church in Eastern Township and attended country school. Eleanor graduated from Central High School in Alexandria in 1950. She was united in marriage to Duane Thompson on January 31, 1953, at Esther Lutheran Church. Shortly after their wedding, Duane was stationed in Japan while in the United States Army. Following his honorable discharge, they moved to Bloomington where they raised their three children, Kevin, Keith and Karla. Toots enjoyed decorating birthday cakes and crocheting for her children and eventually their grandchildren. She worked in the kitchen for the Bloomington School System for ten years and retired in 1993. She was a former member of St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Bloomington and Esther Lutheran Church. Toots and Duane enjoyed camping with the Rochester Roamers, taking monthly trips. She traveled with the Kennedy School choir to Hawaii, Florida, and the Bahamas. Eleanor especially loved taking trips to Sweden and Norway with her family. Toots will be remembered for taking a magnitude of photos/pictures, enough that if she hadn’t taken them, Kodak would have been out of business much sooner.

She was preceded in death by her parents; an infant daughter; an infant son; grandson, Justin Thompson; and husband of 66 years, Duane in 2019.

Toots is survived by her two sons, Kevin (Mary) Thompson of Riverbank, California and Keith (Lois) Thompson of Bloomington; daughter, Karla (Donny) Kalpin of Leaf Valley; 15 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; several great great-grandchildren; along with nieces, nephews and other relatives.

The pallbearers are her grandsons, Kyle Thompson, Kody Thompson, Jack Thompson, Michael Kalpin, Mitchell Kalpin and Steven Helminiak.