Ida Stegeman

George, IA Ida Stegeman age 94 of Bloomington, MN formerly of Boyden and George, died Tuesday, February 6, 2007, at the Minnesota Masonic Home in Bloomington, MN. Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday at St. John Lutheran Church of Boyden with Reverends, Kim and Trudy Peterson, officiating. Burial will follow in the St. John Lutheran Cemetery at Boyden. Visitation will be Friday at the St. John Lutheran Church of Boyden from 4:00 " 8:00 p.m. with the family present from 6:00 " 8:00 p.m. Ida Stegeman was born October 2, 1912 in the family home at Carlock, South Dakota, the daughter of David and Christina (Littau) Deutsch. She grew up as one of 10 children on a farm 20 miles west of White River, South Dakota where she attended the rural Running Bird School through the eighth grade. While love was in abundance, resources were scarce, requiring the children to leave school to help on the farm or find work elsewhere. After doing domestic work for several years in Minnesota, Chicago and Iowa, she found herself in Sioux County, Iowa where she met her future husband. Ida was married to Henry O. Stegeman on January 20, 1945 at St. John Lutheran Church in rural Boyden. The family farm 3.5 miles north of Boyden was Idas beloved home for the next 56 years. She was tireless in her approach to life, having learned at an early age the meaning of hard work. Tending a large garden, sewing clothes, canning, cooking and housekeeping were combined with unceasing dedication to her family and her church community. Ida always found time to shower love on her husband, four children, their spouses, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. This love often took the form of hand sewn doll clothes and prom dresses, special birthday cakes, hot lunches at school, angel food cakes and cinnamon rolls. As an active member of St. John Lutheran, Ida especially enjoyed teaching Sunday School to the preschoolers and participating in the Dorcas Society for women. Her quilts sewn for Lutheran World Relief number in the hundreds. They were not fancy creations, but warm, serviceable acts of love. A wide variety of interests kept Ida busy for all of her 94 years - from crochet and needlepoint to piano and bible study - she always had many "irons in the fire". Her resiliency was most evident after Henrys death in 1997, staying on the farm for three more years before her subsequent moves to George, Iowa and later Bloomington, Minnesota. After a brief residence at the Minnesota Masonic Home, she left her earthly cares and entered a new life on February 6, 2007. Ida is survived by her four children and their spouses; Aaron and Janet Stegeman of Clive, IA, Bernice and David Smolley of Eden Prairie, MN, Donna and Conrad Schnerk of Bloomington, MN, and Loreen and Jay Stravers of DeKalb, IL. Also surviving are eight grandchildren; Kristen (Shawn) Gould, Sara (Steve) Schmidt, Julie (Shawn) Whitmore, Nina Stegeman, Jennifer Smolley, Daniel and Eric Schnerk and Evan Stravers, three great grandchildren; Hannah and Maggie Schmidt and Jack Whitmore, two sisters; Erna Hill and Leona (Andy) Schmidt, and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband Henry, her parents, four sisters; Marie Schaeffer, Mathilda (Tillie) Deiss, Hilda Bendig, Elsie Bettcher and four brothers; Abraham, Reinhold, Alfred and Edwin Deutsch.