Mildred Elaine (Schumacher) Meyer, 96 years of age of Holdrege Ne

A memorial service for Mildred E. Meyer will be held on Saturday, March 11, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at
Hope Lutheran Church near Smithfield, Nebraska with Mr. Joe Wilken officiating. Inurnment will follow at
the Hope Lutheran Cemetery near Smithfield.

The service can be viewed on the Hope Lutheran Church Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/HopeLutheranChurchSmithfield/

Mildred Elaine (Schumacher) Meyer, 96 years of age, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sunday,
February 19, 2023, at Holdrege Memorial Homes in Holdrege, Nebraska.

Mildred was born December 20, 1926, on the family farm south of Bertrand, Nebraska. She was the
fourth of five children of Herman and Elsie (Koch) Schumacher.

She was baptized on January 23, 1927, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Bertrand, and confirmed into the
Lutheran faith on June 23, 1940.

Mildred attended elementary school at Rural School District 36 in Phelps County until 1938. She loved
walking in the hills surrounding their farm, so when her family moved into Bertrand and she attended
Bertrand Community School, she missed the long, ambling walks to and from school through the hills. In
the summer of 1941, Mildred moved with her family to Hermiston, Oregon, taking the old Highway 30 the
entire way there. She attended school in Hermiston until her family returned to Bertrand in mid-1942,
moving back into the same house they had left several months before. Mildred became the first in her family to finish high school, graduating from Bertrand High School on May 19, 1944.

During high school, she worked as a waitress at Marie’s Cafe in Bertrand, and after high school, she
moved to Holdrege with her sister Phoebe and worked for two years at Dell’s Cafe in Holdrege.
While she was living in Holdrege, she began dating the man who would become the love of her life —
Walter Meyer, who was from Smithfield and had also graduated from Bertrand High School. They were
married on January 5, 1947, at St. Paul’s Church in Bertrand. To this union were born two daughters, Trudy
and Wanda, and two sons, Terry and Wendell. Together they built a successful farming operation.

For most of her married life, Mildred was a busy farm wife and mother, raising four children and
growing a big vegetable and flower garden, canning hundreds of jars of vegetables and fruits, taking care of
chickens and other barnyard animals, and even making the family’s own soap and butter. One year her goal was to can 100 quart jars of her own homegrown tomatoes. When she had canned all the tomatoes in the garden and the season was over, she found she had canned only 99 quarts, thus missing her goal by one jar. She loved baking, and spoiled her family with delicious breads, pies, cookies, and cakes. She was also an excellent seamstress and sewed clothes for all four children until they graduated from high school. Besides being a mother and homemaker, Mildred volunteered in various capacities for her community. She served on the township election board, was a member and officer of the Bertrand Garden Club, and presided at the Hope Lutheran Church women’s organization.

When all her children had graduated from high school and left home, Mildred began pursuing work
outside the farm. In 1983 she began her employment at the Bertrand Nursing Home and stayed there for
more than 14 years, until 1997. Meanwhile, she and Walter had moved into Bertrand when they gave up
full-time farming in 1984.

After retirement, she volunteered at the Senior Centers in Bertrand and Holdrege, became a Master
Gardener, won many blue ribbons at the Bertrand Fair for her flowers, made numerous quilts, and
embroidered many a piece of cloth. She continued planting and tending a flower garden each summer
until she moved to Holdrege Memorial Homes in 2019.

Mildred’s survivors are daughter Trudy (Steve) Witt of Bertrand; son Terry (Lynda) Meyer of
Bertrand; daughter Wanda Meyer-Price of Cannon Beach, Oregon; son Wendell Meyer of Central City;
grandchildren Lonnie (Amy) Meyer, Shannon (Ali) Meyer, Wayne (Jill) Witt, McKenzie Price (Adam
Tageldin), and Sonya Price; and great-grandchildren Nash Meyer, Jacob Hilmer, Jordan Hilmer, Shali
Witt, Reagan Meyer, Berlyn Meyer, Caden Meyer, Raffaela Tageldin, and one more Tageldin due in
May. Other survivors include nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.

She was preceded in death by Walter Meyer, her husband of 42 years; parents Herman and Elsie
Schumacher; sisters Florence (Keith) Farnham, Edna (Chet) Peterson, and Phoebe Huggett (Lawrence)
Whitson; brother Carroll (Corrinne) Schumacher; parents-in-law Herman and Mary (Schroeder) Meyer;
sisters-in-law Esther (Harold) Stehl and Olga Meyer; brothers-in-law Delbert (Susie) Meyer and Martin
Meyer; son-in-law Bernie Price; and grandson Zaxary Price.

There will be no visitation or memorial book signing. The family has honored her wish for
cremation.

A memorial has been established in Mildred’s honor, for later designation by the family.

Expressions of caring and kindness can be sent to the family at http://www.nelsonbauerfh.com

The Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege is in charge of the arrangements.

Source: Obituaries