Ethel Geving

Geving, Ethel B. Sun Prairie - Ethel B. Geving, née Jones, age 94, currently of Sun Prairie, Wis., passed away on Friday, March 5, 2021, at Agrace HospiceCare in Fitchburg, Wis. She was born in New Richmond, Wis. on July 22, 1926, the daughter of Ward B. Jones and Emily née Thomas Jones. She married the love of her life, Gordon C. Geving, on Feb. 18, 1946, in Clear Lake, Wis. They were 10 days short of what would have been their 63rd wedding anniversary at the time Gordon died in February 2009. Ethel and Gordon moved to St. Paul, Minn., and Ethel attended the Minneapolis School of Art and Design for two years, honing her talent to draw and paint. Her education was interrupted by the birth of their first daughter, Joyce, and six years later daughter Barbara was born, and the family became four. It wasn’t until years later when Joyce started college, that Ethel also went back to school. She attended Lakewood Community College (as it was known then) and this time she gravitated towards pottery. She had said that once she got her hands in the clay, she was lost. She threw, glazed, and fired pots in the basement of their home in Mahtomedi and went to many craft and art fairs to sell her wares. In addition to the pottery, Ethel also was a Brownie Troop leader and headed the Girl Scout Cookie Sales for a few years and one summer, taught the girls at Camp Lakamaga to make cottage cheese out of the milk that had arrived soured. She worked in Stillwater, Minn., for the Washington County Human Services Information and Referral office. She purchased her own electric typewriter to become a more proficient typist, as she had not used her keyboard skills since high school. The family enjoyed camping and fishing and Gordon and Ethel went deer hunting every fall for many years. Land near Duluth was purchased with the initial idea of retiring up there. However, since Gordon was a diesel mechanic and spent many a long and cold winter night traveling to where trucks had broken down, a chance trip to Arkansas changed the retirement plans. Ethel and Gordon moved to Yellville, Ark. in 1979. Gordon built her five kick-wheels and Ethel taught a couple of generations of (mostly) women to throw pots. In 1994, they moved a few miles away to Flippin, Ark. She continued to attend art fairs until Gordon told her she was going to have to find someone else to “lug the chicken boxes” (large, sturdy wax-coated cardboard boxes that were perfect to carry the pots, but were HEAVY when filled). Ethel’s love of learning led her to computers; she started with a Commodore VIC 20; then the Commodore 64, on to the Apple IIc, and then a multitude of IBM PCs followed over the years. One of her biggest regrets of having macular degeneration was that it ultimately caused her to no longer be able to use her computer. In 1985, Ethel discovered a love of world travel and after the first overseas trip to England and Wales, the wanderlust carried her to Scotland, China, Russia, Turkey (twice), the former Yugoslavia (twice), Greece, Italy, Mexico, Belgium (twice), the Netherlands, France, Portugal (twice), Spain, and Morocco. (Gordon loved to travel if you could drive there). Ethel is survived by her daughters, Joyce (Mike) Knowlton of Madison, Wis. and Barbara (Richard) Clark of Denver, Colo. and Austin, Texas; granddaughter, Emily Clark; step-granddaughter, Colleen Clark; sister-in-law, Lucille Jones née Ganje; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ward and Emily; husband, Gordon; brothers, Robert and Ward Jr.; and sister, Sharon. There will not be a memorial service, but at a later date, both Ethel and Gordon will be interred at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minn. (in her hand-thrown urns), joining brother, Robert, and her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Gilbert and Dorothy née Geving Holmstoen. The family would like to thank the wonderful and caring staff at Agrace HospiceCare, her doctors and nurses at St. Mary’s Hospital, Madison, and all her friends at New Perspective Senior Living in Sun Prairie. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608) 221-5420