Elnora M. Paulson

Elnora (Elie) Mae Zimmerman Paulson, 87, died Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, at the Monticello Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

A private family memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Anamosa Fire Department or St. John’s Lutheran Church.

Elnora was born Sept. 23, 1929, in Olin, Iowa, the daughter of Mino G. and Sophia Dirks Zimmerman.

Elnora Mae Zimmerman received her education in the Olin Consolidated Schools. On Feb. 14, 1946, she married Robert Louis Paulson at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Olin while Bob was home on leave from the military. Bob returned to his duties and Elie lived with her mother-in-law, Wilma McGuire, in Chicago, Ill. Upon Bob’s discharge from the service, they continued to live in Chicago until 1951, when they moved to a farm north of Olin, where the couple raised their family.

While helping with the farm work, Elie also held several part-time jobs. Along with Bob and her brother, George Zimmerman, she did custom bailing, hung wallpaper and worked at Collins Radio until taking a job at the Marion Circulation Co. She worked 32 years there, running circulation campaigns for small-town weekly and bi-weekly newspapers all over the Midwest. She continued working after reaching retirement age before a move took her from the family farm to assisted living, and later to the Monticello Nursing and Rehab Center in Monticello until her death.

Elie was an active member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Olin for many years, serving on the altar committee, among other duties.

She is survived by her three children, Shirley (Darrell) Kading, Honey Creek, Iowa, and Denis (Barb) Paulson and Sherry (Mike) McGreevy, both of Anamosa, Iowa; her grandchildren, Lisa Ferrer, Glen (Doris) Kading, Robert (Heather) Paulson, Denise (TJ) Nealson, Michelle (Derek) Weimer and Jon (Kelly) McGreevy; and 19 great-grandchildren. She also is survived by countless relatives, who will all mourn her passing.

Preceding her in death were her husband, Robert, in 2010; her parents; 11 brothers and sisters; one great-grandchild, Mikayla Weimer; and many other relatives.

Elie was the youngest of 12 children and the last remaining member of their immediate family.

She will be missed by all who knew her, especially for her quick humor and jokes. No one was a stranger to Elie.

Goettsch Funeral Home is caring for Elie and her family. Thoughts, memories and condolences may be left at www.goettschonline.com.