Elaine Stensrud

ELAINE (TRADUP) STENSRUD, age 79 of Janesville, passed away peacefully on August 13, 2026 at Whispering Creek Skilled Care & Rehabilitation in Janesville, MN.

Elaine was born in Rochester, MN on December 12, 1946, to Vernon and Mildred (Kranz) Tradup. She grew up on a dairy farm northeast of Rochester and attended a one-room country school for grades one through six, walking a mile each way. She attended junior high in Elgin and senior high in Plainview, where she was an “A” student, earned academic awards, and graduated at age seventeen at the top of her class. During her teen years she babysat often, and after graduation she began working at Mayo Clinic at age seventeen. On August 10, 1965, she met the young man she knew was meant for her. Elaine and Charles Stensrud were married on April 16, 1966, at 8:00 PM at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Potsdam, MN. They soon took a road trip to San Antonio, living there for the first ten months of their marriage. After Charles’s Air Force discharge, a job offer brought them to Waseca, MN, and later to the Janesville area. Elaine was a housewife and stay-at-home mother until her children were in school. She then returned to work and later became the school secretary at Trinity Lutheran School in Janesville, retiring after twenty years. Elaine loved people and during her younger years, was active in various church groups, especially enjoying “New Baby Calls” and visiting elderly members. She cherished time with family and friends. Her hobbies included bowling, gardening, reading, baking, sewing, listening to music, and pigeon racing.

A devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, Elaine bravely battled Alzheimer’s disease and in her final years endured a heart attack, hospitalization with Covid, and two broken hips. Her suffering is over, and she now has a new home in heaven. She touched many lives and will be deeply missed.

Elaine is survived by her husband Charles; sons Chris and Timothy (Amy); daughter Stacy; grandchildren Dylan, Bohdi, Caleb, Levi, and Cassidy; great-granddaughter Madilyn; brothers and sisters-in-law; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother Gerald; grandparents; mother and father-in-law; three brothers-in-law; and one sister-in-law.

Visitation for Elaine will be held from 4-7 PM on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at the Janesville Chapel of Dennis-Steffel-Omtvedt Funeral and Cremation Services, and will continue for one hour before the service at the church on Thursday. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Trinity Lutheran School in Janesville or Alzheimer’s Research.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, August 20, 2026 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Janesville, with Rev. Jason Wolter officiating. Interment will follow at St. John Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Iosco.