Elizabeth Day Wee, 100

            Elizabeth Day Wee was born in Hibbing on September 26, 1909, to Amanda Shellman Day and William Day.  She was their first and only child, for when Elizabeth was two her mother died; her father never remarried, and lived in Hibbing until his death in 1942.

Elizabeth died on November 1, 2009—All Saints Day—at the Northfield Hospital Long Term Care Center.

            Elizabeth was raised in Fergus Falls by her mother’s sister and family, Elizabeth and Ole Grande.  She had two brothers, Harold and John, who lived most of their adult lives in California, and a sister, Betty Grande, who lived in Northfield with her friend Ethel Doepping.  For years Betty was the lab technician at Northfield City Hospital, and Ethel was the St. Olaf College nurse.

            Elizabeth graduated from high school in Fergus Falls, attended Park Region College there for two years, and then graduated from St. Olaf College in 1931.  At St. Olaf she studied Latin and Greek, and sang alto in the St. Olaf Choir.  She was with the choir when it made its historic trip to Norway in 1930.

            After graduation she taught Latin and Physical Education for two years in Langdon, North Dakota, and then in 1933 she married Morris Wee, who had fallen in love with her while visiting his younger sister at St. Olaf, who had a beautiful roommate named Elizabeth.  The young couple settled in Madison, Wisconsin, where Morris was the assistant pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church.  Thus began 62 years of a married partnership in which Elizabeth was a co-worker with Morris in a varied ministry.  They served Bethel in Madison for 25 years, First Lutheran Church in Duluth for 3 years, and Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis for 10 years, until Morris retired in 1972.  Elizabeth spent four years as a college First Lady, at Carthage College and Waldorf College, while Morris served as President.  And after formal retirement, they served other congregations including Peace Lutheran in Bermuda, Oak Grove in Richfield, Central Lutheran in Eugene, Oregon, and Trinity in Mason City, Iowa.

            Elizabeth raised four children: Mary Wee Maxwell, a retired school social worker of Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin; David Wee, retired after 40 years as a St. Olaf College English professor, of Northfield; Daniel Wee, a retired  Lutheran pastor, of Weeki Wachee, Florida; and Morris O. Wee, a Lutheran pastor, of Edina, MN.  Elizabeth is survived by 12 grandchildren: Elizabeth and Amy; Rebecca, Jonathan, and Allison; Marit, Astri, Trygve, and Britta; and Kai, Anders, and Morris Olaf; and by 12 great-grandchildren.  Elizabeth’s husband Dr. Morris Wee died in 1995, and her grandson Scott in 2007.

            Elizabeth lived a rich life as wife, mother, grandmother, musician, and teacher—she was one of the first teachers of the Bethel Bible Series—and she radiated love, optimism, faith in God, and general good spirits to all who encountered her.

            The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, November 12, 2009, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 500 W. 3rd St.,  Northfield, with visitation at the church for one hour prior to the service, and a reception to follow.  Memorials are preferred to: Bethel Lutheran Church, Madison, WI; Kabekona Lake Association Foundation; or Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.

Arrangements by Benson & Langehough Funeral Home.