Eilene "Ike" Floura

Live streaming for Ike's service is:   https://youtube.com/live/o5A-7zTo-PU

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

A time to be born and a time to die. Myrtle Eilene Floura (“Ike”), 95, of Bemidji, Minnesota passed away peacefully at Cedar Cottage in the early morning of September 11, 2025, in the care of her two beloved caregivers that never left her side.

A time to plant and a time to uproot. Ike was born on November 22, 1929, to Melvin and Ellen Haugen on the family farm in Staples, Minnesota. One of five sisters, Ike led a charmed childhood on the farm. She spoke often of stacking hay alongside her dad, eating homemade treats prepared by her mom, and causing ruckus with her siblings­ – especially her twin sister, Kip.

Ike and Kip attended St. Cloud Teacher’s College together where they obtained degrees in elementary education. From there, Ike devoted her life to teaching those around her, in ways big and small.

A time to tear down and a time to build. Ike accepted her first teaching job in Blackduck, Minnesota, where she earned $2,100 a year. Throughout nearly 25 years of teaching second grade, mostly at J.W. Smith Elementary in Bemidji, Ike inspired countless students to fall in love with learning and follow their dreams. Ike taught not only second graders, but the next generation of teachers who student taught in her classroom over many years. Ike spoke fondly of her years as a teacher and delighted in seeing her former students and student teachers throughout town.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them. As a new teacher in Blackduck, Ike met Wayne. They married in 1954 and went on to create a family with their three children: Jean (Clark), Tom (Lorie), and Sandy (Jack). Ike’s passion for nurturing and teaching poured into her children. Inspired by her mother’s work, Sandy soon had a second grade classroom of her own.

As time passed, Mrs. Floura became Grandma Ike. Her family eventually grew to include six grandchildren: Tyler (Samantha), Trevor (Hannah), Terran, Mitchell (Michaela), Matthew (Sierra), and Bailey (Adam) and six great-grandchildren: Peyton, Landon, Madden, Carson, Calvin, and soon to be Baby Floura.  

No one learned more from Ike than her family. Ike was best known for her warm chocolate chip cookies, homemade macaroni and cheese, and Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes that nourished a house full of family for decades. When Ike’s family grew and scattered, everyone looked forward to grandma’s handwritten cards and letters, phone calls, and the occasional box of baked goods to tide them over until the next trip home. She taught her crew the importance of faith, family, and fairness – virtues she modeled until her very last day.

A time to be silent and a time to speak. Ike was a dedicated member of her community, always in search of ways to reach out a hand to help another. A faithful member of the First Lutheran Church, Ike could be found serving behind the scenes as part of the funeral committee, helping to prepare the church’s fall dinner, and regularly attending service, once earning the Mary Magdelene Award for “demonstrating ‘go and tell’” – proudly teaching others the word of God. No matter how skilled an educator, though, Ike felt she was never able to teach anyone to brew the church’s coffee as well as she could.

Ike proudly served her community as a member of the Bemidji First City Lions Club, dedicating countless hours to supporting organizations near and far. Ike mentored many members of the next generation, creating public servants that impacted the community in many ways. Her efforts earned her the Jones Fellow Award for dedicating humanitarian services to Lions Clubs International Foundations – an award that hung on her bedroom wall the rest of her life.

In her retirement years, Ike continued to dedicate her time to the classroom by making the walk across the street to J.W. Smith Elementary to volunteer with the students. Ike was known to support the students who needed it the most, often bringing hats, mittens, and boots to kids who didn’t have any.

A time to weep and a time to laugh. In her spare time, Ike was a year-round sports fan, faithfully watching the Timberwolves, the Twins, and the Vikings (a hobby that invariably leads one to weep, at times). Ike’s love for sports transcended all levels – after sitting in the stands to watch her own children, Ike never missed a game played by her grandkids. When that season ended, Ike looked forward to countless trips to the Twin Cities to cheer on her great grandkids from the sidelines. A teacher at heart, Ike never missed a moment to encourage and inspire, even after the toughest of games.

Ike cherished the times spent with her friends, including dinners at the Legion, Friday night card games, participating in women’s groups like “the lady bugs” and “home makers,” winters down south, golfing (once earning the award for “a site to be holed”) and the spontaneous drink and snack with a neighbor or passerby on the patio on a summer’s day. An E.J. Brandy seven – just one – often capped off a long week.

A time to mourn and a time to dance. Ike spent the last years of her life at Cedar Cottage in Bemidji, cared for by the loving staff members and the hospice team. Even when time came that she had few words left to share, Ike could be heard faithfully singing the same well-known hymns during their church services that shaped her life. In her last days, Ike clung to her early days on the farm. In her room adorned with cows, Ike could be heard to ask on occasion “What do you think of my farmer legs?”

Upon her passing, Ike’s legacy for teaching and inspiring the next generation only continues. Ike made the decision to donate her body to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program to advance the training of the next generation of medical professionals – a nod to her grandson, Dr. Mitchell Floura, of whom she was so proud. One final act of service as a lifelong educator.

A time to teach, and a time to put the chairs up on the desk and turn out the lights.

Ike was welcomed to heaven’s gates by her loving parents, Melvin and Ellen Haugen; her sisters, Mary Arlene (“Kip”) Dalen, Delores Haugen, and Beatrice McGillivray; her husband, Wayne Floura; her daughter, Sandra Floura Freer; four brothers-in-law, two sisters-in-law, three nieces and nephews; and her best friend, Alice Joy Lapp. She is greatly missed by those who remain, including two of her children, Tom and Jean; her sister, Beverly Trygstad; her brother-in-law, Jack McGillivray; all of her grandchildren, and all of her great-children.

We will celebrate Ike’s life on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at First Lutheran Church in Bemidji. A visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m., followed by a service officiated by Pastor Kayla Billings at 11:00 a.m. and a luncheon to follow.  

In lieu of flowers, donate a book of your choice to J.W. Smith’s library or the First Lutheran Church’s Preschool in Ike’s memory. In the days to come, read a story to a student in your life and smile thinking about Mrs. Floura.  

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