Mildred Elj

Mildred Annette “Mertz” Elj
Mildred A. “Mertz” Elj, 84, Hibbing, died Friday, September 5, 2014, at Heritage Manor Nursing Home in Chisholm.  She was born in Hibbing on March 5, 1930, to Anton and Martha Pavelich.  Mertz grew up in Penobscot Location, the youngest of nine children.  She always said they weren’t poor, they were poverty stricken.  Her father died when she was one year old, leaving her single mom to raise her along with five sisters and three brothers.  All the siblings had nicknames along with most Location kids in those days.  Mertz was one of the few that kept hers for life.
They had a cow and a big garden.  They hauled water from a community well and gathered coal along the mining company railroad tracks for the stove.  Mertz said she was surprised their tar paper shack didn’t burn down because many times the pot belly stove was red hot at night to fend off the winter cold.
From these humble beginnings, Mertz went on to make a life for herself.  On August 19, 1950, she married Charles Elj and they made their home in Pool Location.  From there they moved to Hibbing where they raised their family.  She loved her children and adored her grandchildren and welcomed their spouses and significant others into the family. She also took great joy in watching and holding her great-grandchildren.
Mertz was a proud woman, a sharp dresser, a graceful skater, and an avid walker.  Many people in Hibbing simply referred to her as “the walker.”  She walked about five miles a day on the streets of Hibbing until the age of eighty.  Mertz, Mom, Grandma Mertz, will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by her family and friends.
She is survived by a son, Dennis (Rabbit) Elj of Buck Lake, MN; a daughter, Nancy (Mike Wiberg) Aimonetti, of Bovey, MN; four grandchildren:  Tiffany (Michael) Blank, Jamie (Brian) Nordin, Lindsay (Eric) Potter, and Lacie  (Bob Peterson) Aimonetti; great-grandchildren Millie Nordin and Finn and Ainzley Potter; by a sister:  Mary Schwartz of Chisholm, MN; and by many nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Chuck Elj; by sisters Katie, Ann, Barb and Ag; brothers Tony, Nick, and George.
Visitation will be Wednesday September 10, 2014, at First Lutheran Church, Hibbing, from 10 AM until the 11 AM funeral service.  Interment will be in Maple Hill Cemetery, Hibbing.  Arrangements are with Dougherty Funeral Home, Hibbing.  To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.doughertyofhibbing.com.

---