Eleanor Frost

Eleanor L. Frost of Round Lake, IL passed away on April 9, 2020.  She was 94 and born on the same street she spent most of her life, up until recently, when she moved to be cared for by her daughter Eleanor.  She cared for Jack, her husband in his final 7 years while his life was gradually taken by Alzheimer’s.  She toughed it through right to the end and never wanted her husband to have to be cared for by anyone else.  He had the best caregiver in the world.

She is survived by a sister Larena Yost, brother Bill Redman and preceded in death by a brother Daune Redman.  She had three sons, Bill (Patti) of Elkhart Lake, WI, Jack (Winnie-deceased) of Round Lake, IL and Dennis (Cynthia) of Appleton WI.  She had one daughter, Eleanor of Wonder Lake, IL.  She had five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

Eleanor married Jack Frost shortly after he returned from serving in the Navy during WWII.  They were married up until his death in 2006.

She was the most unselfish person you could ever know.  She gave everything for her family and friends.  Need a hand with anything and she was always there.

She raised her family to respect others and respect one another no matter who they were; live within your means; save for the future; do the best job you could do and never ever be late. She was honest to the T. She never lost focus of her role… she was an unconditional mother.

Eleanor had a very simple upbringing.  She lived through the Depression, then World War II and never lost her sense of what it meant to have very little.  Mother was not materialistic. But, if you were close to her or in her family and you needed help, she would literally strap you on her back.  Mother’s sense of worth was within her family.  Her family made her richer than any monetary measure.

Her passion was sewing, and many people experienced her talent first hand.  She was always working on something.  Always busy making things with her hands.  But, a needle and thread was her trademark.  There are photos of her when the children were young always in homemade clothes for herself and her children and as the grandchildren arrived they were always receiving homemade clothes or clothes for dolls.

Later in life she took a special interest in making quilts.  Everyone in the family has a quilt or two that she made.  It was her desire to make sure all those that touched her heart would have a quilt made personally by her.  There were quilts made for weddings, for showers and for other gifts.

She also loved gardening and then would labor for days canning those vegetables that could not be eaten fresh.  There was no wasting anything.  People were always being sent home with fresh tomatoes, peppers, green beans, onions and other garden wonders.

Meals and desserts were made from scratch and there was always homemade bread in the house.  It was her signature. You’d find flour stored away in the cabinet below the sink and packets of yeast ready for the necessary raising of the dough.   Friends would visit and could not believe the harvest of goodies always coming out of her kitchen.

She would cook the wild game that Jack would bring home and make glorious meals.  Jack and she would fly fish for bluegills throughout the spring and have a Friday fish fry every week and sometimes with homemade potato pancakes.  If you were there on a Friday, you were invited to stay, and she’d just throw more in the frying pan.

We lost one of the “old timers” of Round Lake.  She lived through the infancy of what was once just a little town.  She saw it all.

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a hand wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, work shirt and a hat; and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other.  It was the time for fixing things: a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made us crazy.  All that re-fixing, re-heating leftovers, renewing; We wanted just once to be wasteful.  Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But mother is gone now, and we are struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.

She will be right at home in heaven.

You will be missed by all that knew you here on earth.  We love you now until eternity.

Service details will be made available when the current restrictions have been lifted.

The family is being assisted by Warren Funeral Home, Gurnee, IL.