Eleanor Twist, 94, Dickinson, formerly of Manning went to her heavenly home on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at St. Luke’s Home, Dickinson, which had been her home for the last year. Eleanor’s funeral will be on Sunday, September 20, 2009, at 2 p.m. at Hillside Baptist Church, Dickinson with Professor Tod Twist officiating and Reverend Ronald J. Gold and Pastor Ernie Shipe co-officiating. Interment will be in Dickinson Cemetery. Visitation will be Saturday from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m., with family present to greet visitors from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. at Ladbury Funeral Service and will continue one hour prior to service time at the church on Sunday.
Eleanor Neal was born near Gladstone to Earl and Mabel (Gilbertson) Neal on June 18, 1915, the oldest of five children. After her mother’s death, when Eleanor was only 11 years old, she became “mother” to her two younger sisters and two brothers. She attended school in Gladstone and graduated as class valedictorian (in a class of two students). After high school she obtained a teaching certificate and taught school until August 6, 1937 when she married Donald Twist on the Twist family farm.
After her marriage to Donald they moved to a farm northeast of Manning where they farmed and ranched for 58 years. After her four children started school Eleanor resumed teaching in schools in the Manning area. After returning to Dickinson State Teachers College and earning her Standard Teaching Certificate she taught third grade in Killdeer for 15 years.
Eleanor and Donald were very active charter members of Manning Community Church for many years. During this time she taught Sunday school and spoke at women’s retreats. In later years Eleanor became a member of Hillside Baptist Church. She was also on the Teacher’s Education Committee of North Dakota. Eleanor took great joy in distributing “Our Daily Bread” devotional booklets to her family and many other people for many years. Eleanor lived at Park Avenue Villa prior to moving to St. Luke’s home.
Eleanor is survived by her four children, Linda (Delbert) Velenchenko, Bellingham, Wash., Earl (Beverly) Twist, Kalispell, Mont., David Twist, Manning, and Allen (Kathy) Twist, Davenport, Iowa, 12 grandchildren; Lyndell Bauer, Brian Velenchenko, Tod, Donald, Joel, Roy, Wallace Twist, Lorinda Lee, Earl, Justin, Elissa, and Kirk Twist, 17 great-grandchildren; Austin, Murika, Jake, Katie Beth, Toby, William, Thomas, Ty, Cade, Ben, Julia, Eric, Aryana, Christopher, Caleb, Banyan, and Dylan, three step grandchildren; David, Lori, and Michael, four step great-grandchildren; Brannon, Leah, Cheyenne, and James and one step great-great-grandchild, Kaden; two sisters, Mary Koppi and Minnie Gates; three sisters-in-law, Bernice (Andrew) Kolesnick, Betty Neal, and Lois Wagner, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Eleanor was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Donald, two brothers Glen and Louis Neal, four brothers-in-law, Robert and Ernest Twist, Ernest Gates, and Mike Koppi, one niece Sharon Scott, and one grandson-in-law, Jim DeMarr. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be given to the Gideons International in their area.
