Obituary of Jane Eidson

Eidson, Jane When Jane Eidson was a young girl, the iceman provided refrigeration and the lamplighter made evening rounds in her northwest Chicago neighborhood. She lived through nearly a century of immense change, creating her own opportunities in every decade. When she was in eighth grade, she won a citywide essay contest answering the question "who will win the presidential election and why?" Her answer (Franklin Roosevelt) earned her a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., with the four other winners, all considerably older. As a young woman during World War II, she took flying lessons and married a handsome young Navy officer at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. The couple found the opportunity to be together long enough for a wedding when a torpedo hole in his battleship, perilously close to his quarters, required a quick repair at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Jane stayed home to raise their five children while developing her own interests in creative sewing, fine art, and investing. A first-generation college student, she was proud to have completed her suspended education at the University of Minnesota the same year her youngest child graduated, and she went on to become an active member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Jane loved to dance and, in her seventies, she performed in the "Silver Stars," a tap dancing troupe. She was also a long-time member of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis. Rita Jane Wagener Eidson, who made her home in St. Louis Park for nearly six decades, was born in Chicago on March 27, 1919. She died at 98 on July 31, 2017. Her husband, Wilbur Lamar Eidson, died in 2010. She leaves her children, Karen English of Boston (Ted), Nancy Arguedas of St. Louis Park (Mariano), Rita DeBoer of Chicago (Larry), Tom of Saudi Arabia (Janet), and Gary of Edina (Ann); 16 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother Paul Wagener (Phyllis) of Sanford, Fla., and several nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to AAUW. A private memorial service will be held at a later date at the convenience of the family.