Elsie Niemi

Elsie Pauline Niemi, 96, passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 12, 2019, following several traumatic falls at MaDonna Towers, Rochester, MN. We mourn her passing but rejoice that she is at home with her Lord and Savior, and we look forward to a sweet reunion in heaven. Elsie was born in Oulu, Wisconsin on February 20, 1923, daughter of the late Estrid Linnea (Erickson) and Jacob Hilmar Johnson. She attended schools in Oulu, finishing high school in Ashland, WI. After high school she moved to Winnetka, Illinois to work as a nanny. She enjoyed attending night school Bible classes at Moody Bible Institute. Elsie married Martin R. Niemi from Saxon, WI on June 19, 1948. They hand-built their first home in Ashland, WI, on the shore of Lake Superior and later hand-built another home in Saxon, WI, where they resided until 1974. They moved to Palmyra, Baraboo, and then to Neenah, WI, where Elsie cared for her husband through several years of debilitating strokes until he passed away in 1995. Elsie then shared her home with her sister Florence before alternating her time with Paul and Linda Niemi in Neenah and with Ralph and Merry Beth Gay in Rochester, MN. She eventually made her final home with her daughter in Rochester, spending the past five years at MaDonna Meadows assisted living facility and then being moved to Madonna Towers the last two months. Elsie was a hard worker. Her stories of carrying water up the hill from the Muskeg River in Oulu, working for her room and board while going to high school in Ashland, and working as a nanny in the Chicago area are just several examples. For extra Christmas money, she gathered boughs on their property and made hundreds of wreaths, delivering them in the Ashland and Ironwood areas in the 1960s. Elsie was an excellent seamstress, knitter, and baker. She prepared many entries for the Ashland and Iron County fairs, winning blue ribbons and Best of Show awards. In 1966, Elsie started selling raspberry pies from her home, prompting Martin to build a small roadside restaurant called "The Woodwam," just across from their home on US2 in Saxon. She was the chief cook and baker until moving to Palmyra. Their final move together was to Neenah, WI. Elsie will be remembered by her grit, her wit, her endearing smile, and her cinnamon rolls. Elsie was a woman of faith from her early childhood. She was baptized in the Muskeg River. The Lord sustained her through many challenges in life, including surviving breast cancer. She was active in the Oulu Baptist Church, where her mother was the organist; 1st Baptist Church in Ironwood, MI; East Troy Bible Church; Walnut Hill Bible Church, Baraboo; Calvary Bible Church, Neenah; and Autumn Ridge Church, Rochester. Elsie was preceded in death by her husband Martin, her brothers Clarence, Jacob, and Arnold, and her sisters Dorothy Piell and Ethlyn Rostollan. Surviving sisters are Muriel Rostollan, Midland, MI, and Florence Nelson, Fox Crossing, WI. Surviving are four children: Mildred (Lanny) Stapp, Dawsonville, GA; Sue (Jerry) Kieffer, DeForest, WI; Paul (Linda) Niemi, Neenah, WI; and MerryBeth (Ralph) Gay, Rochester, MN; twelve grandchildren; twenty-four great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at the Timothy Chapel at Autumn Ridge Church, 3611 Salem Road SW, Rochester, MN, 55902 on Saturday, November 2, at 11:00 a.m., followed by a luncheon. Guests are welcome to join the family for coffee at 10:00 a.m. in the Timothy Chapel foyer preceding the service. A future committal service will be held at the Lakeview Cemetery, Saxon, WI. We would like to give a special thanks to the Mayo Hospice caregivers and Autumn Ridge Church visitation team, especially Susie Kessler, who brought much joy in words of comfort and song. Attending Bible Camp in the summer was always near and dear to her heart. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts for Elsie Niemi can be sent to Fort Wilderness Scholarship Fund, Box 715, McNaughton, WI 54543 or fortwilderness.com/give. Fort Wilderness is a year-round Christian youth and family camp reaching others for Jesus. Psalm 100:5 "For the Lord is good and His love endures forever, His faithfulness continues through all generations." Arrangements entrusted to Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home, Rochester, MN.