Charlotte
"Eloise" Lungren, 91, a longtime home economics teacher, died of natural
causes Wednesday at a Shelby hospital.
Visitation is 1 to 8 p.m. today at Whitted Funeral Chapel in Shelby. Her funeral
is 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Community United Methodist Church, with burial in
Mountain View Cemetery.
She is survived by her sister, Betty Finn of Wray, Colo.; and her nieces Judy
Finn Pearson, Elaine Lungren Vandenberg and Sandy Finn Davis.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Rev. Richard Lungren, who
served as pastor to the Shelby Methodist Church in the late 1940s; her
sister-in-law, Grace Lungren; her brother-in-law, Orin Finn; and her nephew
David Lungren.
Charlotte Eloise Lungren was born in Davenport, Iowa, on May 11, 1915, to Oscar
and Anna Lungren. When Eloise was very young, the family moved to Basin, Wyo.,
where Eloise started school at the age of four. During her teen years, she was
active in 4-H clubs in Wyoming and was awarded a trip to the Stock Show in
Denver, as well as a trip to Washington, D.C. She also participated in youth
activities at the Basin Methodist Church. Eloise graduated from Basin High
School in May, 1931. Four years later, she graduated from the University of
Wyoming in Laramie, earning a degree in home economics and education.
Eloise first taught in a one-room country school in Hamilton Dome, Wyo., for
three years. She then moved to Kemmerer, Wyo., where she taught home economics.
Her next position was as a home demonstration agent in Cody, Wyo. In 1945, the
family moved to Shelby, where Eloise taught home economics in the high school.
She became very ill with rheumatic fever and was unable to work for several
months. After recovering, she began working in the County Treasurer's Office in
Shelby, where she continued to work until her retirement.
Eloise was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church, serving as organist and
Sunday school teacher at Shelby for many years. She was active in the women's
groups of the church as well. Eloise loved to read and listen to great music.
She enjoyed traveling, bird watching and gardening, and was very devoted to her
family. Eloise lived in the home her parents had purchased in 1945 until she
retired to the Marias Heritage Center in June of 1999.