ELEANOR A. WIITA

Eleanor Arlene Wiita, 67, of Wasilla, passed away unexpectedly at her home April 5, 2005.

Services were held at Christ First United Methodist Church in Wasilla, at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 9, with a celebration of life memorial at the shop at the Wiita home.

A memorial service will be held in McGregor, Minn., on Tuesday, April 12, at the McGregor School auditorium, beginning at 5 p.m.

She was born Aug. 16, 1937, to Toivo and Aina Staudinger and grew up attending schools in Cromwell, Denham and McGrath, Minn., graduating from McGregor, Minn., in 1954.

Mrs. Wiita and her husband, Bruno, were married in 1955. They lived at the Wiita homestead in East Lake until moving to McGregor in 1970. The couple moved to Alaska in 1979. They lived in Anchorage and finally settled in Wasilla in 1989.

Her loved ones wrote, "Eleanor's love of cooking and entertaining was second to none. She loved her family and friends with robust enthusiasm. She will be missed deeply by all. There were no strangers in her life - only friends she hadn't met."

Her parents, Toivo and Aina Staudinger, preceded her in death.

She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Bruno; children, Aileen and Jerry DeMenge and their children, Chad and Clint DeMenge, of McGregor, Minn., Alvin and Delores Wiita and their children, Bryan, Alex, Savanna and Cayla Wiita of Anchorage, Joanne Wiita of Juneau, Jeff and Jeanne Johnson and their children, Laura Hope and Andrew Johnson, of Ridgewood, N.J., and a sister, Evelyn Swedberg of McGregor, Minn. Several nieces, nephews and many, many friends also survive her.

Arrangements were with Valley Funeral Home & Crematory in Wasilla.