Elsie Johnson Tennyson

Elsie Johnson Tennyson, age 100, of Fargo, ND, former resident of Milbank, SD, passed away on August 7, 2019, at Edgewood Vista in Fargo, ND. She was under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, August 9, 2019, at Edgewood Vista Village in Fargo, ND. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.

A second memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 17, 2019, at Mundwiler Funeral Home in Milbank, SD. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.  Rev. Dave Motta will officiate both services, and burial will be at Milbank City Cemetery. Elsie's family will greet friends on Friday evening between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Grandstay Hotel.

Elsie L. Johnson Tennyson was born on May 27, 1919, in Cumberland, WI, to Ludwig and (Jescke) Rosalie Just.  She was a graduate of Cumberland High School and then the Northwestern School of Nursing in Minneapolis, MN.  She worked as an industrial, hospital, and private duty nurse in Minneapolis.

On August 8, 1942, she married Dr. Edward A. Johnson; they were married for fifty-five years until his death in 1997.  After living in Milbank, SD, for fifty years, Elsie moved to Fargo, ND, to be near family.  On July 26, 2013, she married Rodney Tennyson; they resided at Edgewood Vista in Fargo, ND.

During her lifetime, Elsie was devoted to her family, church, and community.  She was a dedicated volunteer for her children’s many and varied activities as they were growing up.  She was a leader in preserving local history, served as a long-standing member of the American Legion Auxiliary, and assumed an active role in the leadership of the South Dakota Medical Auxiliary.  She served as Secretary of the Milbank Housing Commission which initiated the city’s first housing project for the elderly.  A willing volunteer, she supported wide ranging projects to further her community in a life well lived.  She was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Fargo, ND.

Elsie is survived by her husband, Rodney Tennyson; five children: Rosann Fuller of Frankfort, MI, Alan (Delain) Johnson of Sun City West, AZ; Dr. Larry (Letitia) Johnson of Jamestown, ND; Dr. Mark (Dottie) Johnson of Madison, WI; and Steven (Diane) Johnson of Fargo, ND; fourteen grandchildren; twenty-seven great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; and Rodney Tennyson’s five daughters: Lynette (Ron) Pederson of Fargo, ND; Anita Tennyson of Peoria, AZ; Cherie (Vern) Korgel of Peoria, AZ; Alisa Hall of Minot, ND; and Shelly Muehlenbeck of Peoria, AZ; and their families.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, Dr. Edward A. Johnson; an infant granddaughter; and a grandson who was killed in Iraq. She was the last of her siblings, all of whom preceded her in death.

Memorials to the following philanthropies are preferred: The Milbank High School Scholarship Foundation in Milbank, SD; The Elsie Johnson Tennyson Nursing Scholarship at the University of Jamestown in Jamestown, ND; Edgewood Vista Chapel of Fargo; or Hospice of the Red River Valley in Fargo, ND.