Yvonne Ellingson

Yvonne Ellingson, loving mother, aunt and friend, entered God’s Glorious Kingdom on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the age of 84.

Yvonne was born in Stanchfield, Minn. to Reuben and Gunda Larson. She enjoyed growing up on the farm with her sister and was happy to be outside helping her father with the animals and chores. After graduation from Braham High School, she went on to become a medical technician. While working at the Cambridge, Minn., State Hospital, she met Dr. F. Thomas Ellingson, MD and they were married Sept. 2, 1961. They welcomed two sons, Charles in 1963 and Eric in 1969.

Tom and Yvonne settled in Bismarck, N.D. where Yvonne was instrumental in running the Ellingson Eye Clinic from 1967-1991. It was while living in North Dakota that Yvonne became an expert trap shooter and developed her love of golf. She was a six-time Ladies Club Champion at Apple Creek Country Club, started playing yearly in the North Dakota Women’s Golf Association State tournament in 1973, served as the NDWGA President from 1989 to 1992 and served on the United States Golf Association Women’s Regional Affairs Committee from 1993 to 1995 as a rules official. Yvonne was inducted into the North Dakota Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.

In 1997 when Tom and Yvonne began spending the winters in Arizona, she became a member of the Rio Verde Ladies Team Play Squad. Yvonne was fortunate to have scored five aces, or holes in one, over her golfing career.

Yvonne enjoyed summers in North Dakota and winters in Rio Verde. In 2007, she made Rio Verde her permanent home.

Yvonne was very involved in all the churches she called home. As an active member of Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church, she served as an Elder beginning in 2019 and the church family was very important to her. She chose to live a life of meaningful acts and love and service as Christ modeled for us. She had a strong faith and was ready to see her Savior face to face.

Yvonne was always smiling and was affectionately called “Sunshine” by her family and friends. She was authentically and wholeheartedly there for those in her life. Selflessness and generosity were two traits that highlighted her personality. She had a big heart and gentle spirit which touched the lives of many people.

Yvonne is preceded in death by her sister, Estelle Hasselbring (1987); her son, Charles (1992), and husband, Tom (2014).

Yvonne is survived by her son Eric, his wife, Tammie and their children, Doug and Kate. There are many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends that will miss her dearly.

A memorial service will be held at Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church on Thursday, March 23, 2023, at 1 p.m.

In Honor of Yvonne please donate to a local animal shelter.