Elmer “Tom” Ernest Eckart

Just before his 97th

birthday, Elmer “Tom”

Eckart of Shoreview, MN

died peacefully ack-

nowledging that “I’ve had

a good life” and “I know

where I am going.” He

was born in Harvey,

North Dakota to Jacob Jr.

and Lena Putz Eckart, and

lived his growing up years

in Martin, North Dakota.

After high school he at-

tended Fargo Business

College and in WWII

joined the Army Air Corp,

trained as a navigator, fol-

lowed by the U,S. Air

Force Reserve retiring

with the rank of major.

His working career was in

Chicago IL as a carpenter,

contractor, and commer-

cial remodeler. After re-

tirement and moving to

Minnesota, he graduated

from Lakewood (Century)

College. He was a dedicat-

ed volunteer with

Gideons International dis-

tributing Bibles as his way

of spreading God’s Word

plus meeting with local

pastors to inform them of

this organization’s work;

with AARP Taxaide as-

sisting low income and

the elderly with their

taxes; and with Twin Ci-

ties Habitat for Humanity

as a worker, teacher, and

supervisor. Also, he con-

sistently volunteered with

the churches he belonged

to in 3 states over the

years which included

prison ministries; using

his knowledge as a car-

penter to repair, remodel,

and improve the church

buildings; serving meals

at a homeless shelter; dis-

tributing meals to chil-

dren in their school back-

packs who needed food

support, and driving peo-

ple to appointments,

events, and church ser-

vices. Locally, he has

been a member of Centen-

nial United Methodist

Church, 1524 W. County

Rd. C2, in Roseville, Min-

nesota, where his

Memorial service will be

held Tuesday, June 28,

2022: 1pm Visitation,

2pm Service, 3pm Recep-

tion. Preceded in death by

his wife Mildred and his

sister, Helen Mae. Sur-

vived by his daughter

Alexa (Mark) Umbreit,

granddaughters Jen Patter-

son and Laura Umbreit;

great grandchildren Myles

Patterson, Jade Patterson,

and Sophie Tirati; his

brothers James Eckart and

Rodney (Kathryn) Eckart;

his sister Elaine Edinger;

many nieces, nephews,

and cousins. Interment

will be at the Bradford

Cemetery in Bradford TN

where his wife Mildred is

buried.

Memorial donations are

welcome at the organiza-

tions Elmer supported (or

donor’s choice);

Gideons International

(gideons.org), Twin Cities

Habitat for Humanity

(tchabitat.org), Centennial

United Methodist

(centennialumc.org).

Arrangements

Holcomb-Henry-Boom-

Purcell Funeral Home

651-482-760