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Elsa
grew up during the 1920’s in
Sweden
. Hers was an unstable home marked by poverty and hardships. Her
mother grew frustrated as her children entered their teens and when
Elsa and her sister came home late on Midsummer’s Eve in 1936 her
mother complained to the authorities. Child Welfare Services took
custody of Elsa, her brother and two sisters. Her siblings were
placed in foster homes, but Elsa had a speech impediment and was
instead committed to a mental institution. For 31 years Elsa
remained behind the locked doors of the institution. Deprived,
abused, the victim of medical experiments and enforced
sterilization, Elsa has every reason to be bitter and angry. Instead
Elsa knows how to savor each day, finding joy in simple pleasures
like tasty apples, pretty pictures and friendly people. “It’s
much easier to be happy than to be bitter,” says Elsa. She is a
familiar face at auctions, church functions and parties. Wherever
she goes she has a kind word to say to the people she meets whether
they are friends or strangers. Once considered to be “mentally
deficient,” Elsa has lived on her own for the past 45 years even
doing her own taxes. She has a talent for poetry and a remarkable
memory for details. Today she is an enthusiastic, vibrant and
talented woman who lives life to the fullest to make up for so many
lost years. Hers is a story of endurance and tears, triumph and
laughter, and the joy of living.
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Elsa lived the last years of her life in a nursing home.
Crippled by rheumatism she was confined to a wheelchair,
but her mind and her memories remained fully intact and she always
had a new story to tell or a song to sing!
Elsa Lundh died June 14, 2008
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