Eileen Scheltens

Eileen Scheltens died peacefully at Sheyenne Crossing Care Center in West Fargo, North Dakota on February 1, 2011. Born Hazel Eileen Hultin on September 30, 1920 in Donnybrook, North Dakota to Clarence and Edith Johnson Hultin, Eileen was the eldest of three children. Her family immigrated to North Dakota from Sweden in the second half of the nineteenth century. She attended high school in Donnybrook where she graduated at age 16. Her husband, George Arthur Scheltens, died in 1979, after 36 years of marriage. Eileen liked to tell of her childhood Christmases in the early 1920's. Her mother would bundle up her children Eileen, Carmen "Buddy" deceased, and Neil and they would board the family sleigh. While warm and tucked under blankets, her father would maneuver the horse drawn sleigh over snowy and often snowing miles until they reached her Johnson grandparents' home where they would light candles on the Christmas tree, enjoy lutefiske and have a truly delightful and memorable North Dakota Scandinavian "Yul". Another fond memory that Eileen enjoyed recalling was of the family barn being the site of many wonderful dances where family and friends from nearby farms would come to play their instruments her father played the fiddle and dance, while enjoying one another's company well into the night. Eileen left North Dakota for Seattle in the early 1940's where she worked during the early years of World War II. She remembered her time in Seattle fondly. In 1943, Eileen and George Scheltens were married in Glendive, Montana. Following the war, George left a distinguished career as a fighter pilot in the Air Force and the couple settled in California. George entered the field of education, which took the young couple and their family of three children Sue, Vicki and Jim to Billings, Montana for ten years where George was a high school teacher and Eileen worked as a bookkeeper. The family eventually moved to California where George worked as an elementary school principal in Willow Creek and Merced, and Eileen held various office and secretarial positions. Following George's death, Eileen moved to Seattle, followed by Albuquerque and eventually to Sacramento where she put down her deepest roots. Always adventuresome, Eileen traveled extensively, visiting Mexico, South America, Russia, Israel, Europe, and Asia, where she traveled on a gunboat in Burma as well as often visiting her children and grandchildren in Washington and North Dakota. With her cup of coffee, Eileen loved to read her newspapers and political magazines daily. She always knew how her Democrats were doing and what the Republicans were up to. Eileen loved her family and will be greatly missed by all of them. Survived by daughters: Sue Ann Murray, Fargo, North Dakota; Vicki Glant Gary, Seattle, Washington; son James Arthur Scheltens LaVerne, Anacortes, Washington;grandsons: Paul Sanders, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Michael Sanders Marni, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Adam Glant, Seattle, Washington; great grandchildren James Sanders and Tiphany Mata; brother Neil Hultin Beryl, Waterloo, Ontario; and nieces and nephews: Arlene Boothe, Steve Hultin, Phillip Hultin, Geoffrey Hultin and Karen Warren. The family would like to thank the kind and skilled caregivers at Sheyenne Crossing as well as those serving Hospice of the Red River Valley for the skilled and compassionate care given to their beloved Mother.