Electa Lettie Willmott died Tuesday, February 3, 2009, at the United Retirement Center in Brookings, South Dakota, at the age of 106. Funeral Mass will be at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, February 7, 2009, at St. Thomas More Catholic Parish in Brookings, with interment at Fairview Cemetery at White, South Dakota. Visitations will precede services at St. Thomas More on Saturday, with a Rosary at 10:00 A.M. Memorials may be directed to St. Thomas More Catholic Parish in Brookings or to St. Pauls Catholic Church in White.

Electa Agnes Willmott was born August 13, 1902, near Pipestone, Minnesota, to Charles L. and Ida M. (Groves) Willmott. As a small child she moved with her parents to the Primghar/Cherokee, Iowa, area. Lettie attended country schools, and then moved with her family to White, South Dakota, in March 1917. She began her high school years in the new school building that was completed in 1916. She graduated from White High School in 1920, and still wore her class ring on special occasions. After high school, Lettie attended Eastern State Normal School in Madison, South Dakota, receiving her teaching certificate. She returned to teach school at Argo District No. 24 in 1921, and Afton District No. 13 in 1922-1923. She continued her education at Eastern Normal and South Dakota State College, graduating in July 1929.

With her decision to pursue a career in nursing, Lettie moved by train to Spokane, Washington, where she graduated in April 1935 as a registered nurse from the Sacred Heart School of Nursing. She returned to South Dakota in 1943 working as a private duty nurse. In 1945, she began working at the VA Hospital in Hot Springs until her retirement in 1968. She made many trips back to White to visit family, with her dogs Bobby and Susie and sometimes her talking parakeet Bimbo. She moved home to White in 1973, and later to Brookings in 1981.

Lettie was a member of St. Thomas More Catholic Parish in Brookings. She stayed physically and mentally active, spending many hours reading, working crossword puzzles, playing cards with friends, and watching Twins baseball games and CNN. Her love of learning, her determination, and her self-sufficiency aided her longevity and made her an inspiration to her many nieces and nephews.

Lettie was preceded in death by her parents; her siblings and their spouses: Roy (Irene) Willmott, Leo (Mildred) Willmott, Harry (Mary Ellen) Willmott, Kathryn (Wesley) Lamb, and Edna (Francis) Murphy. Survivors include nieces and nephews.