D. Elaine Jorgenson

D. Elaine Jorgenson, 81, of Dell Rapids formerly of Baltic died Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at Terrace Manor in Dell Rapids.

Committal services will be at 2:00 PM Saturday, November 21, 2009 at West Nidaros Lutheran Cemetery, rural Crooks. Memorial service will begin at 2:30 PM Saturday at the West Nidaros Lutheran Church. Visitation with the family present will be from 5-6:00 PM Friday at the Minnehaha Funeral Home, Baltic.

D. Elaine Jorgenson was born July 8, 1928 on the family farm near Baltic, the daughter of Lawrence and Aagot Jorgenson. During her lifetime she spent over 40 years in the field of Education. She attended South Dakota State University, University of Northern Colorado and Oklahoma State University.

For six years she taught at elementary and secondary schools in South Dakota. She then returned to school to complete her graduate studies. Upon completion of her doctorate she taught seven years at Eastern Illinois University and twenty-five years at Oklahoma State University. During her career in higher education she served as teacher, department chair, Director of Academic Affairs and Dean. She served as major advisor for forty-three master’s thesis and thirty-five doctoral dissertations.

Elaine was active in Home Economics Organizations at the local, state, national and international levels.

She was honored with membership in Kappa Phi, Delta Phi Delta, Phi Lambda Theta, Kappa Delta Phi, Omicron Nu, Phi Upsilon Omicron and Phi Delta Kappa.
She is survived by a sister, Audrey (Jim) Nugent, Bella Vista, AR; a brother, Don (Bonnie) Jorgenson, Blue Springs, MO; a sister in law, Dorothy Jorgenson, Colton; two nieces and four nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Ed Jorgenson, and a great nephew Nicholas Jorgenson.