Elaine Rose Anderson

A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Friday, January 9, 2026, at the Ecumen St. Benedict Center Chapel in St. Cloud, MN for Elaine Rose Anderson.  She passed away on January 1, 2026, having attained the age of 92, at Ecumen St Benedict Center in St Cloud.  The Reverend David Grundman will be the celebrant.  Burial will at the St. Timothy Parish Cemetery at Maple Lake, MN.  Visitation will be one hour prior-to the service at Ecumen St. Benedict Center Chapel in St. Cloud.

Elaine Rose Anderson was born on December 17, 1933, in Maple Lake, MN.  Her parents were John and Helen (Post) Bruns.  Elaine was the oldest of seven children.  She was born in town and raised on a farm four miles south of Maple Lake.  She had fun playing with her siblings. They would play Annie-Annie-Over, swing on the old poplar tree or make mud pies to bake in the sun.  Through eighth grade, Elaine attended Country School.  She enjoyed school, despite the difficult walk to school in the winters.  She loved playing games and going sledding during recess.  She even won a prize for a speech she wrote at school.  After eighth grade graduation, she attended Maple Lake High School.

Elaine met her late husband, Kenneth Anderson, at a school dance when she was 14!  After high school and after Ken returned from the Navy, they were married.  Elaine and Ken had five children: Mary, Cathy, Jeanne, Steve, and Mark.  Having three daughters and two sons, Ken declared they had a “full house”—three queens and two kings. Elaine and Ken raised their children on a farm south of Maple Lake.

Elaine held many positions over the years.  As a young girl, she picked strawberries on a farm in Howard Lake.  Elaine’s mother drove Elaine and her sisters to the farm.  They were fired because her little sister was throwing strawberries around. Elaine worked as a secretary at the Moccasin Factory on main street, in Maple Lake, at Grant Battery in Minneapolis and, Tennant Company, Minneapolis.  She worked at the Maple Lake Messenger and Maple Lake High School.  Elaine’s children were involved in Farmers Union and 4-H.  She was a 4-H Leader and helped start Chatham Climbers.  She even took a trip to Washington, D.C. to attend a convention with other leaders

In 1980, Ken passed away unexpectedly at age 49.  Once her children were raised, Elaine moved to St. Cloud and worked at St Cloud Hospital.  Then for many years worked as a receptionist at St Benedict’s Center.  Her last employment was part-time as a receptionist at Whitney Senior Center.  Elaine retired at 81 years of age.

Elaine found joy in life’s simple pleasures including; gardening, cooking, dancing the waltz, entertaining friends, Eucharistic Minister for St Timothy’s, and watching her two sons wrestle.  She enjoyed getting “gussied up” to meet her friends for lunch in St Cloud.   Later in life she cheered for the Twins and Vikings.  Elaine felt blessed to have her children, family and friends in her life.  Family was the most important part of mom’s life.

Until age 88, Elaine was fully independent. She drove her car and traveled through international airports to see her children.  In 2021, her health was challenged by two strokes.  Elaine met this challenge with the same grit as in her younger years. She lived the last four years at St. Benedict’s Center, where she worked toward rehabilitation, was a greeter for Mass, enjoyed Bingo and concerts in the Bonn room.

Elaine was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth Anderson; her son, Stephen Anderson; her parents, John and Helen Bruns; her sisters, Lola Carlson and Myra Demarais- Munstenteiger; and brothers-in-law, Jerry Demarais and Henry (Pete) Mavencamp.

She is survived by; her children: Mary (Willard) Piens, Cathy (Alfred) Wurm, Jeanne (John) Onushko, and Mark Anderson; 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; her siblings: Charlene Mavencamp, John (Diane) Bruns, Helen (Don) Conway, and Theresa (Chuck) Becker; and the families of her late sisters, Sonny Carlson and Jim Munstenteiger.