Ellen Farwell

Funeral services for Ellen Farwell of Alberta, Minnesota will be held Monday, July 20, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at Faith Lutheran Church in Morris, with Reverend Wayne Kopitzke officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the church. Burial will be in Summit Cemetery in Morris.

Ellen Edna Hanson was born on April 8, 1928, the youngest of nine children, to Lewis and Emma (Podratz) Hanson in Swan Lake Township by Morris, MN. She was raised on a farm and attended school at Swan Lake Township through 8th grade. After finishing 8th grade, she moved to Morris and lived with her sister Ann. She and Ann both worked for Tom Kokavicas in a candy/store/restaurant.

Ellen married Lynn Farwell on September 30, 1948 at the Federated Parsonage in Morris, MN. It was a double wedding that included Lynn and Ellen and her brother Melvin and Elanda Hanson. They lived on what was the original Farwell homestead and raised their four children. Ellen was Lynn’s partner in helping on the farm. When the kids were all in school, she worked for her sister, Ann, in Ann’s Café and store in Alberta, MN. After Ann sold the café, she started working at the Diamond Club in Morris as a waitress. She eventually got a job at the UMM in the food service for 24 years. She was the salad lady. She made many lifelong friends there. She received her GED in 1970. She was very proud of this accomplishment. She and Dad stressed education and were proud of the fact that all four of their children received a college degree.

She loved reading, needlework, playing cards, fishing, traveling, Minnesota Twins and Vikings and a cold beer in the summer. She also loved rummage sales and craft shows. She would always come home from an auction sale or rummage sale with some treasure which she would then try to convince one of their children that they or one of their children needed. She was always working on a needlework project. She donated many items to the church which included an altar cloth and lectionary cloth. She also gave many items to be sold at the church bazaar and her work hangs on the walls of all of her children. Mom and Dad loved to travel and made it to all the regions in the US except the very NE corner. She also traveled to Europe with her niece, JoAnn. They started spending time in Mission, Texas a couple of weeks each winter until Mom retired from UMM. They then spent three months in Texas and made many friends. She was a diehard Twins fan and she and dad attended many games which included the 7th game of the 1991 World Series which the Twins won.

Ellen died on Sunday, July 5, 2026 at Wheatcrest Hills in Britton, SD; she was 98 years old.

She is survived by Ray (Ann) Farwell of Alberta, MN, Rosemary (Randy) Heitmann of Lake City, SD, Richard (Melissa) Farwell of Browns Valley, MN, Randy (Sherri) Farwell of Moorhead, MN; 13 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren at last count. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lynn; parents Lewis and Emma Hanson, twin brothers, Alfred and Clifford Hanson, Melvin (Elanda) Hanson, Lewis (Lila) Hanson, Carl (Lorraine) Hanson; sisters, Rose Hanson, Mary (Leroy) Johnson, and Ann (Lowell) Benson.

She was a lifelong member of Faith (Peace) Church in Morris, MN. The family requests that all memorials be donated to the Faith Lutheran Church Women’s Group or the Stevens County Historical Society in Morris.

Mom, you are and always will be loved!

Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in care of the arrangements for Ellen.