Elnora Wilson

ELNORA SHIRLEY WILSON
Elnora, age 94, died on February 13, 2018 at Heritage Middleton.

Elnora Shirley Bemis was born on a dairy farm south of Antigo, Wisconsin, on August 25, 1923. She was the oldest of five children born to Dora Johnson Bemis and Clemans Joel Bemis. Her siblings were Marjorie May, Floyd Clemans, Gordon Joel, and Dean Ervin. Her grandparents Monroe and Margaret Ellen Bemis always lived with them. The children all attended Stassberg school and Antigo High school. The family was very involved in 4H and each child frequently had several projects, but always had a calf they trained to lead. This was a hard time for families because of the depression, drought, and grasshopper invasion. However, they always had plenty of food to eat and milk to drink. There was always a big garden, homemade bread, and homemade maple syrup.

After two years at University of Wisconsin, she was working for her meals at a restaurant in Madison, where she met Staff Sergeant George Wilson, who was stationed at Truax Field when he came for meals. He was there so frequently that he convinced her to marry him, as so many soldiers were doing before being sent overseas. She stayed with family in Antigo until he returned, and they were able to return to their previous apartment in Madison with their daughter, Ellen Judith. When a second baby arrived, Thomas Joel, they moved to a larger apartment, and eventually bought a little house on the west side. They had two more children, Jeanne Elaine, and Daniel George.

They joined Bethany Methodist Church and stayed there until Asbury Methodist Church was formed. They were charter members and she was the only one left at her death. She held many positions there: Junior high youth leader, lay leader, teachers education chairman, and active in UMW, the women's group, and many more.
She was hired as a naturalist at Madison School Forest, as a guide for children touring there to study birds, plants, trees and animals in their natural habitat, as their teachers desired. After several years, she became the head naturalist, hiring, training, and scheduling, staying for 25 years in that position. She always loved birds and plants, with all the training from her father and grandfather coming into use.

She was a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader for many years. Other hobbies were gardening and flowers. She always had a garden, for both vegetables and flowers for enjoyment. She sewed most of her life, starting with a dress for 4H when she was nine years old. She sewed most of her and her children's clothing. She sewed five wedding dresses, and made children's and baby quilts, and child's action books. With her love of reading, she wrote books for her grandchildren, and about her farm life. She wrote about ten. Elnora became interested in genealogy, and was able to follow several ancestors back for hundreds of years (one going back to the 9th century). She had large notebooks of information on Bemis, Hutchinson, Clemans and Wilson families. She met extended relatives in her searches throughout the country. The family also enjoyed camping in tents and later in campers. Elnora was very inquisitive and always wanted to learn about a variety of topics affecting her life.

A big memory was a trip to Israel and Greece, where she walked and visited where Jesus walked and lived.
Two of her children died of cancer, Tom at 32 and Jeanne at 56. All of her siblings, and one grandson predeceased her.

Elnora loved people and they loved her; she had many friends. She had ten grandchildren and eighteen great grandchildren. Each grandchild claimed that he/she was her very favorite. Her network of friends and family allowed her to continue living in her home until age 93.

She said: " Yes, I love many people, and they love me. That's what keeps me going."

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on May 26, 2018 at Asbury United Methodist Church, 6101 University Ave. A visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m. followed by the service at church.