Eileen Zander

Eileen Zander, 73,

Minot, formerly of the

Washburn area, died Sun-

day, August 7, 2022 at her

home surrounded by her

loving family and hospice.

Eileen was born Sep-

tember 24, 1948 in

Bismarck, ND, the

daughter of Clarence and

Ethel (Reitman) Swanson.

She was raised on a farm

near Washburn, spent the

first grade in a country

school, then went to

Washburn schools where

she graduated in 1966.

She continued her educa-

tion at the Trinity School

of Nursing and received

her degree as a Registered

Nurse.

Eileen was united in

marriage to Merle Zander

on January 16, 1971 at the

Birka Lutheran Church

near Washburn. They

made their home in

Minot, where they raised

their two children, Troy

and Jill.

She was employed as a

registered nurse for 44

years at Medical Arts

Clinic and Trinity Hospi-

tal, where she worked for

Dr. Giltner and Dr. Folk-

ert. She ended her nurs-

ing career working at the

Protime Clinic at Trinity

and retired in December

2012.

She was a charter

member in the founding

of Our Savior Lutheran

Church, Minot. She was

actively involved in sing-

ing in the Church Choir

and volunteered there in a

number of capacities.

Eileen’s greatest joy was

her family. They enjoyed

24 summers at Rice Lake

and most recently at Blue

Lake. Her favorite times

were sitting on the deck at

the lake and watching her

children and grandkids

making memories. Along

with all of her hobbies,

she enjoyed attending her

grandkids’ activities and

sporting events the most.

She loved to decorate her

house for the holidays

and cook her family’s

favorite foods and sweet

treats.

During their retirement

years, Eileen and Merle

loved to travel the world,

taking a number of cruises

with their favorites being

Tahiti (visiting Moanatea

Smith), Brazil and China.

For the past nine years

she and Merle have also

enjoyed spending the

winter months in Florida.

When asked — what

words best describe your

life and explain why?

“Very fulfilled. I have

everything I have always

wanted, an education,

working as a nurse, get-

ting and being married for

51 years, having two very

special children, and five

grandchildren whom I’m

so very proud of. What

more is there to life?”

Her loving family in-

cludes: husband of 51

years, Merle; children,

Troy (Linn) Zander,

Bismarck and Jill (Luke)

Schwan, Bismarck;

grandchildren, Jericah,

Blaike and Beau Zander

and Kooper and Berklee

Schwan; sister, Barb

Hoffer, Bismarck and

nephew, Mike (Robyn)

Hoffer of Atlanta, GA.

Eileen was preceded in

death by her parents and

an infant daughter.

Funeral service: Thurs-

day, August 11, 2022 at

11:00 a.m. in Our Savior

Lutheran Church, Minot.

To access the Livestream

of the service or share

memories and con-

dolences please go to

Eileen’s obituary page at

thomasfamilyfuneral

home.com.

Visitation: Wednesday,

August 10th from

5:00-7:00 p.m. in Thomas

Family Funeral Home,

Minot.

Graveside service:

Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at

the Birka Lutheran

Cemetery, rural Wash-

burn.

Memorials: In lieu of

flowers or plants, memori-

als are preferred to Our

Savior Church Building

Fund or the Cancer Care

Center of Minot.