Eleanor Hitzemann, 91, of Akron, Iowa, passed away Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at the Shell Rock Healthcare Center in Shell Rock, Iowa.

Celebration of Life Service will be at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Akron, Iowa. Pastor April Peterson will officiate. Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Akron, Iowa. Visitation with the family present will be from 10:00 a.m. until service time and following the service during lunch and fellowship, all at the funeral home. Arrangements are with the Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Akron. Expressions of sympathy can be extended to the family through www.rexwinkelfh.com .

Eleanor Rae Vipond, the daughter of Chester and Minnie (Allen) Vipond, was born on July 15, 1933, in Union County, South Dakota. She attended country school in South Dakota. Her high school years were in Alcester and Hudson, South Dakota, and she graduated from Hudson High School in 1951.

She was united in marriage to Melvin Hitzemann on September 23, 1952, in Hawarden, Iowa. The couple farmed and raised livestock in Union County, South Dakota for many years. Following retirement, they moved to Akron. Melvin passed away on March 18, 2020.

In 2024, she moved to The Meadows Assisted Living in Shell Rock, Iowa, to be closer to her family. She loved the time she got to spend with her family there.

Eleanor was a member of Union Creek Lutheran Church, rural Akron, South Dakota. She was devoted farm wife, excellent cook, and loved to garden and share her bountiful harvest with friends and neighbors.

Survivors include her daughter, Renee (Rich) Lumley of Nashua, IA; a grandson, Levi (Trista) Benning of Plainfield, IA, and their children, Rory and Eldon; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Chester and Minnie Vipond; her husband, Melvin; her son, Gerald Hitzemann; granddaughter, Leanne Hitzemann; son in law, Bill Benning; and her siblings: Don (Betty) Vipond, Verla (Herb) Anderberg, and Shirley (Norman) Anderberg.