Elaine Alice (Wurst) Bryan was born on the Wurst family farm near Farmington, Wisconsin, on May 20, 1926.  She was the second of six children born to Ewald and Pearl Wurst.  One of her chores was to milk the cows.  She drank the most milk, compared to her siblings, but had the worst teeth which puzzled her throughout her life.  After graduating from Osceola High School at the age of 16, she went to live with her grandmother Ray in River Falls, Wisconsin, while attending Normal School to become a teacher.  She returned to Polk County to teach 8 grades in a one room school!  Some of the "children" were older than Elaine, the teacher.  She moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, and hired as a maid for the Goransson Family, who happened to live next door to the Bryan family.  There, Elaine met the love of her life, James C. Bryan.  Jim was sent off to war soon after graduating from Humboldt High School in St. Paul.  They corresponded throughout the war, and when he returned, were soon married on November 2, 1946.  Their first and only child, Jo, was born in August 1947.

Elaine was frugal and stretched the money from her husband's job, a department store salesman - one of the few jobs available to thousands of returning vets.  Having grown up on a farm, Elaine was used to hard work and was well skilled with a strong work ethic.  She was an expert canner and spaghetti sauce maker, with delicious recipes too numerous to count.  Gradually, scrimping and saving, they were able to buy a house on Nebraska Ave. in St. Paul.  They lived there for many years, eventually moving to West St Paul.  They spent their eighties in a Senior Living Cooperative, then moving to Southview Senior Living in 2007.

Elaine always wanted to visit family in Germany -- Province Posen - and after scrimping and saving, growing and canning produce from her huge backyard garden, she realized her dream.  In summer 1969, the family spent two months visiting every country in Europe, especially her German relatives.

Elaine was a long-time member of the Lutheran Church, beginning in Farmington, Wisconsin and ending in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Funeral Service on Monday, December 12, 2022 at 11:00 AM at St. James Lutheran Church; 460 Annapolis St. W; W. St. Paul, Minnesota. With visitation at 10:00 AM; luncheon to follow with interment at Riverview Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to Our Lady of Peace Hospice, 2076 St. Anthony Ave, St. Paul, MN 55104

https://ourladyofpeacemn.org/memorial-gifts/