Ellsworth Jerome Stensrud was born May 31, 1931, in Montevideo, Minnesota, the son of Julian and Esther (Ostlie) Stensrud. He was baptized in Watson, Minnesota, and confirmed in Rolling Forks Lutheran Church in Pope County. He grew up in Pope County and graduated from Glenwood High School in 1949. After graduation, Ellsworth attended Normal School in Glenwood and taught two years in rural Pope County Schools. In 1952, he moved to Seattle, Washington and worked for Boeing. On April 11, 1953, Ellsworth was united in marriage to Karen Fae Adele Steen at Swift Falls Lutheran Church. This union was blessed with five children and 57 years of marriage. After their marriage, the couple moved to Minneapolis, where Ellsworth worked at Silco for one year and Flour City Architectural Corporation for 38 years until he retired. They moved back to Swift Falls in 2001. As parents raising their children, he was active in the Young Couples Club at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. After his retirement, he obtained an Associate Degree in Computer Science from Minneapolis Vocational College. He was active in the only all men African Violet Society in the United States. Among the things Ellsworth enjoyed were gardening, hunting, fishing, bowling, playing cards, and spending time with family and friends. Ellsworth was called from this life on Saturday, December 21, 2013, at the Northeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. He attained the age of 82 years, 6 months and 20 days. Ellsworth is survived by his children: Elna (Jim) Sublett of Swift Falls, Althea (Ricky) Darnell of Maple Lake, John (Diane) Stensrud of Suisun City, CA, David Stensrud of Billings, MT, and Kristine Donelson of Tucson, AZ; 11 grandchildren: Charity (Tony) Kolenc, Charlie Zinn, Leia (Brian) Edmonds, Jeremiah "JJ" Stensrud, Angela Darnell, Nicholas (Amanda) Halvorsen, Julia (Joshua) Harris, John Thor (Kaitlyn) Stensrud, Zyonna Wilson, James Donelson III, and Trevor Donelson; 12 great-grandchildren: Dallas Kolenc, Denver Kolenc, Destiny Kolenc, Samantha Johnson, Brandon Edmonds, Vanessa Aguilar, Aiddean Edmonds, Braxton Edmonds, Hannah Halvorsen, Anaiah Harris, Peter Stensrud, and Ajax Stensrud; brother, Roger (Elaine) Stensrud of Litchfield; sister, Alice (Bruce) von Mosch of Fergus Falls; sister-in-law, Adina (James) Vantries of Morris; and other relatives and friends. Preceding him in death were his parents, Julian and Esther Stensrud, and his wife, Karen Fae Adele Stensrud, on June 6, 2010.
