Eleanor B. Eller

Eleanor Eller, 92 formerly of David City, passed away April 29, 2025 at South Haven Living Center in Wahoo, Nebraska.

Mass of Christian Burial will be on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at 10 a.m. at Presentation Catholic Church (Marietta). Visitation will be on Friday from 5:30 until 7 p.m. with a parish rosary at 7 p.m. all at the church. Interment will be at Sts. Peter and Mary Cemetery with lunch following in the church social center. Memorials can be made out to Masses, Presentation Parish or to Aquinas Catholic Schools.  Moravec Johnson Mortuary is handling arrangements for Eleanor's family.

Eleanor was born November 27, 1932 to Thomas and Catherine (Maher) McDonald in rural Imogene, Iowa. She graduated from St. Patrick's Academy in Imogene in 1950, then attended Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Council Bluffs, IA where she met her life long friend Norma Kozisek. She and Norma graduated from Mercy in 1953. Eleanor worked as a registered nurse at Mercy Hospital and clinics in Council Bluffs for over 10 years. On November 27, 1965 she was united in marriage to Frank "Shorty" Eller at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Council Bluffs. Three daughters were born to this union.

Eleanor joined Shorty on the family farm near Bellwood and his brother Alfred who lived and farmed with them. She loved the farm life. Every summer she grew a large garden of vegetables and shared her produce with her family, neighbors, and friends. Eleanor and Shorty enjoyed occasional trips to the Iowa casinos and horse races, Marine Corp reunions, and Marietta Alumni get-togethers. Her favorite trip was to Ireland in 1983 to visit her relatives and her father’s childhood home in Kilkenny. Eleanor was a member of Presentation Catholic Church and very active in the Presentation Altar Society, making pies, playing BINGO with the elderly, and cleaning church regularly. Eleanor returned to nursing and worked as an RN at David Place during the 1980's. In 2018 she moved to St. Joseph's Court in David City for a short time before she spent the last 7 years of her life at South Haven in Wahoo.

She is survived by her daughters: Sue(Michael) Lilly of Ceresco, NE, Nancy(Jamie) Pearson, of Omaha, NE, and Mary(Wayne) Ringer, of Lincoln, NE; sister-in-law: Marge McDonald of Imogene, IA; 16 grandchildren: Thomas, Katherine, David, John, Elizabeth and Gregory Lilly, Mary, Matthew and Sarah Pearson, Rebecca, Brother Jacob, LC, Joseph, Benedict, Margaret, Therese and Caroline Ringer; and many nieces & nephews.

Eleanor is preceded in death by her husband: Frank "Shorty" in 2015; her parents; siblings: Jim(Ruth) McDonald, Emmett(Ann) McDonald, John McDonald, Mary Catherine(Lou) Laughlin, and Eloise(Paul) Kaiser; grandson: Joseph Martin Lilly; nephew: Mike McDonald; great-niece: Mary Grace McDonald and great-nephew: Joseph Francis Kaiser; brothers and sisters-in-law: Leo and Helen Eller, Alfred Eller, Viola and Robert Schmid, Irene and Donald Medinger, and Marcella Medinger.