Eleanor Gaunt

Eleanor Gaunt
(October 9, 1940 – November 19, 2020)

Eleanor (Boos) Gaunt passed away from this earthly home to her heavenly home on November 19, 2020.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 9, 2021 in Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Shelbyville, IL.  A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, July 10, 2021 in Graceland Cemetery, Laurel, IA.  Memorials may be given to Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Shelbyville, IL or the Parkinson’s Foundation and mailed to: Howe and Yockey Funeral Home, 415 North Broadway, Shelbyville, IL 62565.

Eleanor was born on October 9, 1940, in Jefferson County Hospital in Fairfield, IA, the daughter of Harry and Wilda Ogden Boos.  She grew up on a farm near Lockridge, IA.  She attended Victory No. 8, a one-room schoolhouse, through the 8 ^th grade and graduated from Fairfield High in the class of 1958.  She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls in 1962 and earned her master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO during summer sessions, graduating in 1967.

Eleanor taught vocal music in the Iowa public schools of Webster City, Marshalltown, and South East Marshall County (SEMCO) in Gilman and Laurel.  She also taught one term at Marshalltown Community College.  She spent many years as a private piano, organ, and voice teacher.  Eleanor started teaching during her high school days and continued in all communities where she lived.

Her students became like family to her, especially those that studied with her from grade school through high school.  Many adult students became close personal friends.

While living in the Marshalltown and Laurel areas, she was a member of the board of directors of the Community Concert Association, Tuesday Musical Club, and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.  She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and served as the choir director there for 19 years.  When moving to Shelbyville, IL, she and her family became members of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, and she served as choir director for 19 years, and concurrently served as choir director for the First Christian Church for 18 years.  Eleanor was also active in church music and played the organ for weddings, funerals, and church services.

Eleanor’s main love in church music was choir directing.  She first directed a choir during her college days at a small church in Waterloo, Iowa.  She directed church choirs in Marshalltown, Webster City, and two churches in Shelbyville.  One project she was especially proud of was directing the Hymn Festival for several years.  A mass choir of people from many denominations rehearsed together and presented a concert of familiar hymn tunes.  They were joined together under one theme with narration.  Soloists and small groups from the community were added to complete the festivals.

Eleanor married Roy Gaunt in 1968.  They were married for 47 years before he preceded her in death in 2015.  They were both very proud of their two sons, Bryce (Becky) of Smith Station, AL, and Bruce (Shanda) of Albertville, MN, and their three grandchildren, Evelyn, Davis (Megan), and Taylor.  Eleanor’s greatest joy was in the time she could spend with her husband, Roy, and they both cherished the times they had with their family.  She is also survived by her sister, LaVon Hostetler, sister-in-law Lois Gaunt, and many nieces and nephews.

She was proceeded in death by her parents, Harry and Wilda Boos; husband Roy Gaunt; sister in law Mary Gaunt, and brothers-in-law, Paul Gaunt, Fred Gaunt, and Richard Hostetler.

Send condolences online at www.howeandyockey.com or by mail to her sons at:

Bryce and Becky Gaunt

965 Lee Road 288

Smiths Station, AL 36877

Bruce and Shanda Gaunt

5436 Kahler Drive NE

Albertville, MN 55301