Erla Eastabrooks, 94

Heaven’s gates surely opened wide when Erla Annette Eastabrooks went home to the Lord on November 20, 2023 to join the communion of saints and life everlasting. On Saturday, December 2, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., Erla’s funeral service will be held at the Hampton United Methodist Church, where she has been a faithful member since 1966. Following Erla’s burial at the Hampton Cemetery, a luncheon will be served at the church. Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sietsema-Atkinson Funeral Home in Hampton.

On March 29, 1929, Erla was born to Gladys and Arthur McClure and raised with her brother Vern on a farm among the rolling hills of southern Iowa, near Thayer. She attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln where she met and married Frank Eastabrooks on April 2, 1950. They were blessed with three daughters Lynne, Diane, and Julie. The family lived in Pawnee City, NE, LeMars and Spencer before making Hampton their forever home. During Frank’s sales career, he won several trips and he and Erla enjoyed traveling to England, Brazil, and Israel. Later Erla and Frank founded and operated Eastabrooks Enterprises until Frank’s death in 1995.

Erla’s niece likes to say that before there was Martha Stewart, there was her beloved Aunt Erla who embraced the arts of homemaking with passion! Erla spoiled her family and friends by cooking delicious food, entertaining, and making holidays special. Erla’s Christmas fudge was legendary, her dinner rolls and pecan rolls made meals and gatherings special. Erla enjoyed baking and decorating creative birthday cakes for her grandchildren’s birthdays to show how much she loved them and how special they are. Erla was an expert seamstress who created prom dresses, bridesmaid’s dresses, and a wedding dress for her children and grandchildren that looked like they were out of a fashion magazine. She also crafted personalized Christmas stockings for her children, nieces, and nephew and later her grandchildren. Erla loved playing bridge with her friends and the fellowship they shared through the years. Erla was a sports enthusiast who had great fun cheering on the Hampton high school sports teams and Nebraska, U of I, UNI, and ISU football and women and men’s basketball teams.

In the face of adversity, Erla provided an example of faith, resilience and fortitude living with crippling arthritic pain for many years. In December of 2020 Erla moved to Leahy Grove Assisted Living.

Erla is survived by her daughters and their families: Lynne (Tom) Porter, Diane Fink, and Julie (Todd) Holmberg. Grandchildren: Char (Fink) Williams, Allyson (Tony) Walter, Sean (Stacey) Porter, Cara (David) Schwake, and, Abram Holmberg. Great-grandchildren: Samantha and Steven Williams, Elliot and Emma Zagers, Symon Schwake, Mallory and Jordy Porter, and step-grandchildren Aubrey and Payton Walter. She is survived by her former son-in-law Glen Fink, her sister-in-law Gloria McClure, nephew Kevin McClure, nieces Cheryl Beaver and Natalie Burnham.

Erla was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her brother, and grandchildren Josie and Levi Holmberg.