STOUGHTON, Wis./ST. PAUL, Minn. - Jewell Marie (Link) Eklund, age 96, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2022, at Skaalen Home, in Stoughton, Wis. She was born in Saint Paul, Minn., on Sept. 15, 1925, to Julia Paulina (Pfeifer) and Otto Link.

Jewell graduated from Humboldt High School in 1943, and at the age of 17, became a veterans’ preference clerk for the U.S. Civil Service Commission. She attended night classes at Globe Business College. She loved her job and her life as a “career girl,” and she also loved the West Side, where she lived for over 88 years. Jewell had a beautiful voice, and during World War II, she sang at the USO. It was there that she met the love of her life, Bernard James Eklund, who was as wonderful a dancer as she. On November 26, 1949, they danced into a marriage that lasted 62 years, ending when Bern passed away, in 2012.

Beautiful, hardworking, frugal, funny, generous, and a wonderful cook, Jewell lived for others. Her second career, that of an unpaid, loving caregiver, began when she left the Civil Service Commission upon the birth of her first child; it lasted her lifetime. Among the many recipients of that care were children, elderly, and the sick. From 1953 through 1992, she provided daily care to her elderly parents; she did such an excellent job that her own mother lived to the age of 104. She gave special attention to dear Bern following his stroke in 2007, and when she could no longer care for him at home, she visited him daily at the nursing home.

Her children and grandchildren have always known how much she dearly loved them. Asked about hobbies when she was admitted to assisted living, she replied enthusiastically, “My family!” She also showered care on neighbors, distant relatives, and friends. A lifelong member of Salem Lutheran Church, she volunteered in the office and kitchen, and for many years, she and Bern delivered Meals on Wheels. She responded to adversity with courage and pluck, whether that meant advocating for her chronically ill father or beating cancer.

Jewell is survived by her son, Dr. John A. Eklund (Dr. Ludmila Eklund) of Wayzata, Minn.; daughter, Dr. Julia Eklund Koza (Rev. James S. Koza) of Fitchburg, Wis.; two grandchildren, Nicholas J. Eklund and Katherine M. Koza of Chicago, Ill.; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her brothers, Carl and Otto Link; and sisters, Catherine Hill and Ethel Swandby.

A memorial service and interment at Riverview Cemetery in Saint Paul will take place at a later date.

Through frugality and self-sacrifice, she helped make her children’s education dreams come true. To honor her generous heart, donations may be made to the Jewell M. Eklund Memorial Fund at Carleton College, 1 North College St., Northfield, MN 55057, https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/8319/donations/new. If donating online, please enter Jewell’s full name in the “In memory of” box. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

We will always love you, dearest Mom. We promise to drive carefully and call you when we get home.

Gunderson Stoughton

Funeral & Cremation Care

1358 Highway 51 N @ Jackson St.

(608) 873-4590

Jewell Eklund

September 15, 1925 - January 27, 2022

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