| Honored by: | Helen Howe |
| Brick location: | B:26 map |
I am one of the fortunate people to have one of my best friends and my mother-in-law be one and the same. For forty years I had the privilege of knowing and enjoying my husband's mother. She treated me as though I were her daughter and indeed many of my friends thought I was. Thelma was born on a farm in Cedar County in 1899. Since she was the eldest in the family, she had many responsibilities in the home.
Thelma had high regard for education and took a Normal Training course in high school which entitled her to teach in a rural school. She did that before she married and again after her two sons left home for the military and college, respectively. While her children were growing up, she taught them the value of fair play and honest work. She instilled in them the appreciation of an education and how to use their resources well.
She loved to read and kept herself informed on world events, until in her last illness she hadn't the strength to hold the paper in her hands. Thelma was a good manager and was able to stretch the limited income that entered their house during the worst years of the Depression in the 30s. Thelma loved her family and she showed it to us in many ways. We were fortunate to live in the same community as she. Although it has been nearly four years since her death, I still miss the visits Thelma, my dear friend, and I had over our cup of coffee.
11/22/94