Elsie Pauline Clairmont

Elsie Pauline (Mattis) Clairmont, age 88, passed away peacefully on January 16, 2018.  A memorial service will be held at 10:00 am Saturday, January 20, 2018, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, with Rev. Larry Giese officiating. Burial will be held at 9:00 am Monday, January 22, at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. There will be no visitation, cremation has taken place.  Elsie was born on a farm 13 miles north of Hettinger, ND, to Henry and Lydia (Wagner) Mattis.  She grew up while living in a 2-room house out on the farm with her parents and three siblings.  Elsie had a happy childhood growing up in rural ND. She graduated high school from Hettinger in 1937, and went on to learn bookkeeping and worked for the county office in Adams County as a clerk and bookkeeper.  She enjoyed living in this area and in 1964 she met Leo Clairmont whom she married and had two children, Dana Clairmont and Chuck Clairmont. The family made Bismarck their home for over 46 years, and during this time she made many friends and had wonderful neighbors on 27th street.  She enjoyed going to the Bismarck Eagles Club and the VFW Club where she and Leo were active members.  She enjoyed camping at the Eagles Campground and traveling to New Mexico and Arizona.  Elsie volunteered for over a decade in Bismarck and Mandan for many different organizations in the community which she loved very much and made many dear friends.  In Bismarck she grew a garden with vegetables every year and enjoyed preserving her own vegetables.  Leo and Elsie also loved to hunt, fish, and butcher meat at home.  She also enjoyed attending sporting events and working for Sioux Sporting Goods in Bismarck.  Watching her son play football for the University of North Dakota and other events for the grandchildren were a great source of pride for her.  She loved to listen to the radio broadcasting shows where Chuck announced sporting events.  Elsie lived at Touchmark retirement community for seven years and made many friends and enjoyed her time spent there in retirement.  Elsie is survived by her children, Dana Clairmont (Jad Breiner) and Chuck (Lisa) Clairmont; grandchildren, Crystal (Gavin), Angela, Venita, Zenala, Tyler and Carly; and seven great-grandchildren.    She was preceded in death by her husband, Leo Clairmont; her brother, Eugene Mattis; her sister, Lorraine Fulker; her niece, JoEllyn (Mattis) Schneider; and her parents, Henry Mattis and Lydia (Wagner) Mattis.