Elizabeth Swenningson, 95, Garrison, died Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, in a Garrison hospital. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Garrison. A rosary will be said today, Sept. 4, at 5:30 p.m. at the church. Visitation will be held today from noon to the time of rosary at St. Nicholas Church.

Elizabeth was born Dec. 8, 1913, in Ryder, N.D., to Maurice and Odella (Perron) Walsh. She was one of 13 children, with seven brothers and five sisters. She attended rural grade school and also attended high school in Garrison, N.D.

She was married to Herbert Pflipsen in a double wedding ceremony in Blackwater Township with her sister Charolette (Walsh) Reuter on June 5, 1934. They resided in Garrrison, where they were blessed with three children.

Elizabeth was kept busy as a homemaker, always ahead of her time, practicing organic gardening, which was the envy of the neighborhood. Raising her family, canning vegetables, baking, sewing clothes for herself and children and quilting consumed the major part of her days. She was a member of St. Nicholas Parish, St. Ann's Altar Society and Catholic Daughters. She moved to Minot in 1958, where her husband, Herbert, passed away in 1959. She returned to Garrison that year and finished raising her two youngest children.

Later, Elizabeth met Lewis Swenningson and they were married in Minot in 1969. They resided on a farm near Blaisdell, N.D., where they farmed until an accident forced Lewis to retire from farming. They moved back to Minot, where they resided until Lewis's death in 1985. Elizabeth then moved to Bismarck to be near her eldest son, Gabriel, and resided there until 2006, when she returned to Garrison.

She is survived by: her children, Gabriel "Gary" (Rae Ann) Pflipsen, Fruita, Colo.; Marilyn (Jim) Ireland, Garrison, Dr. Ronald (Jacquelyn) Pflipsen, Sierra Vista, Ariz.; eight grandchildren, Stephen (Heidi) Pflipsen, Prior Lake, Minn.; Bill Pflipsen, St. Paul, Minn.; Brian Pflipsen, McCall, Idaho; Tammy Ireland, San Antonio, Texas; Stephen (Norine) Ireland, West Fargo, N.D.; Michelle (Donavan) Baker, Garrison; Dr. Matthew (Chrystel) Pflipsen, Mons, Belgium; Christina Pflipsen, Boston, Mass. Elizabeth is also survived by her sisters, Mary (Robert) DeHaven, Garrison, and Theresa Teed, Bremerton, Wash.; nine great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Herbert and Lewis; brothers, Gervais, Edmund, Jerome, Paul, Thomas, Robert and Victor; three sisters, Evangeline Hansen, Charolette Reuter and Irene Buseck; and grandson, Robert Pflipsen.

To sign the online register go to (www.garrisonthompson.com).

(Thompson Funeral Home, Garrison)