Funeral services for Lena Shoemaker were held on Tuesday, January 11 at the Dorr Funeral Chapel in Falls City, NE. Dr. Donna Ihns officiated. Interment was in the cemetery at Barada, NE. Pall bearers were: Elmer Duerfeldt, Dale Duer-feldt, Robert Davis, Danny Inglis, Dean Palmer, and Jerry Howard. Honorary pall bearers were: James Wesseling, Andrew Wesseling, Calvin Wesseling, Thomas Miller, Kevin Roseboom, Nicholas Wesseling, C. J. Wesseling, Daniel Miller and Jack Roseboom. A memorial service will be held later at the Evans Memorial Home in Cresco.

Lena, 94, died Saturday, January 8, 2000 at the Howard County Hospital in Cresco after a short illness.

Lena Irene Shoemaker was born September 5, 1905 on the family farm near Solomon in Fremont County, the daughter of Jess aid Olga Caroline (Lundberg) Shoemaker. Lena was Valedictorian of the Bartlett High School Class of 1925.

On January 19, 1927 she married Elmer Rickabaugh at the LDS parsonage near Bartlett. They began their life together in Bartlett where Lena was baptized on February 15, 1931 by the Rev. G. W. Kitchen. They made their home in Batada where Lena loved to garden. She maintained lifelong ties with the Bartlett Christian Church and served for many years as a Sunday School teacher and as president of the Ladies Aid Society. In June of 1999 she moved to Evans Memorial Home in Cresco.

Lena was a professinal seamstress and also a nanny.

Lena was preceded in death by her husband Elmer in 1990; her parents; and one brother.

Source: Cresco Times Plain Dealer Jan. 19, 2000 from the Elma library collection assembled by Marian (Marr) McGee, Transcribed by ABBYY FineReader® 12, Adapted to the web by Bill Waters