Eleanor “El” Gustafson, age 85, Inverness, FL passed away February 12, 2025 in Citrus Memorial Hospital. She was born in Chicago, IL near Wrigley Field, on Feb 11, 1940 to the late Arvid and Grace (Carlson) Skoglund. She was a “die hard Swede” and was very proud of her Swedish heritage as reflected by her home décor.
After moving to Florida in the early 70s, she was a waitress at the coffee shop in downtown Inverness for many years. She later began a sales career at Bealls Outlet which kept her busy for the next 20 years until retirement. She loved to stay in touch with family and friends by phone and then through texting, once she finally learned that she could talk to her phone. You may not have always been able to decipher the text, but the effort was there and it made you laugh!
She loved her family and had a massive collection of pictures in her living room of all of those near and dear to her.
She is survived by her children who adored her: Grace (Donald) Cretty of Murphy, NC, Carl Gustafson, Jr and Howard R. Gustafson, both of Hernando; a stepdaughter, Brenda (Ricky) Garcia of Floral City; 1 brother, Robert Skoglund of Inverness; 5 grandchildren: Aron Gustafson, Justin Cretty, Jessica Hess, Colton Gustafson, and Caitlin Gustafson; 8 great grandchildren; and 1 “soon to be” great-great grandchild.
She was predeceased in death by her grandson, Jimmy Balogh; and daughter-in-law, Teresa Gustafson
There is a Celebration of Life scheduled for Tuesday, February 18th from 6-8 PM at the Chas. E. Davis Funeral Home. The Rev. Kevin Ballard will conduct a service beginning at 7:00 PM. Burial will follow at a later date in Hills of Rest Cemetery.
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Ellie was a delight. She was sharp as a tack and so good at what she did at her job at Bealls Outlet. Many of us purposely waited for her register to get to say ‘Hi!” and to catch up. Fly with the angels, Ellie, and what a great long life you have had! Prayers of condolences to her family, especially Grace and Don, my former students
I first met Ellie at Bells Outlet in 1986 and she took me under her wings to show me the procedures of working at Beals. When I moved back to NH Ellie and I had remained friends for many years.. We enjoyed texting, many phone calls and then was able to see each other on FaceTime.. Ellie was a true friend to me and my husband. She will be deeply missed and always remembered. RIP
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