Elsa was born September 13, 1932 in St. Cloud Minnesota to Lawrence Phillip and Priscilla Josephine (Rocholl) Heinen.  Elsa, age 93, died on December 22, 2025 at Kadlec Medical Center.  She graduated from Cathedral High School in 1950.  Shortly after, she moved to Richland Washington to be closer to her older sister.  She began her work career in 1950 with General Electric.  During that time, she met and married Robert C. Martinson on October 10, 1953.  Together they raised 3 children.  When their youngest started school, she began working at Christ the King School cafeteria first as an assistant cook and ending in 1972 as the cafeteria manager.  She then began her career with Battelle Northwest.  She retired after many years of dedicated service.

Elsa was a loyal member of Christ the King Catholic Church for over 70 years.  She was a true believer.  She had a love for books, sewing and making the best Christmas cookies.  If she wasn’t reading, you could find her quietly sewing clothes for the kids, mending favorite items, altering dance costumes and making the most beautiful quilts.  Holiday cookie making gave her much joy.  Baking all of them – using tried and true family recipes – and then gathering the kids and grandkids together to decorate.  She was the best at shuttling the grandkids around and had so much joy watching them participate in their favorite pastimes.  She spent many hours at soccer fields, gyms, hockey rinks, and auditoriums supporting all of them.  Her real love was piling in the car to head to Minnesota each summer to visit family.  So many memories in St. Cloud and Red Wing, but the best times were spent at her brother’s lake house in Avon.  She will be remembered as fiercely independent, a true follower of her religion, loyal and loving of her entire family.

Elsa was preceded in death by her mother and father, her husband Robert Sr., her son Robert Jr., her sisters Marjorie Stocker and Lois Stommes, her brothers Theodore Heinen and Lawrence Heinen Jr.  She is survived by her brother Terry Heinen of Oconomowoc Wisconsin, her daughters Mary (Charlie) Cox of Richland and Joanne (Corey) Poynor of Richland.  She is also survived by the lights of her life – grandchildren Julie (Mark) Pink, Christine Dallas, Shannon O’Connor, Scott (Anna) O’Connor, Lynn (Sean) Hooper, Whitney Poynor and Brooke Poynor, 15 Great grandchildren and 2 Great-Great grandchildren along with numerous nieces and nephews.

Graveside inurnment for Elsa, Robert Sr., and Robert Jr. will be Saturday January 31, 2026, at Einan’s Sunset Gardens, 915 Bypass Highway, Richland at 9:30am with reception to follow at Events at Sunset. In lieu of flowers, she would love donations to be made to any of the organizations that support Veterans wellness.

Rest in peace mom, you made it to your eternal home!