Emma J. Desmet Lucas

Larchwood, IA

      Emma Lucas, age 110 of Larchwood, IA died Thursday, December 19, 2019 at the Fellowship Village Care Center in Inwood, IA.

     Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 AM Saturday, December 28, 2019 at The Church of St. Mary in Larchwood, Iowa with Fr. Francis Makwinja, celebrating. Burial will follow in the Larchwood Cemetery.

     Visitation will be Friday, December 27^th from 4:00 to 7:00 PM with the family present at the Church of St. Mary in Larchwood. There will be a 7:00 PM Vigil service at the church.

     In lieu of flowers family prefer memorials which will be sent to the National Right To Life and the American Life League.

     Emma (Schettler) DeSmet Lucas was born in Wilmot MN the third of eleven children born to Frank and Mary (Schreurs) Schettler. Her family moved to Larchwood when she was a baby. She attended the newly opened St. Mary’s school through the 10^th grade. During this time, she took piano lessons and practiced at home on an old pump organ. Emma helped her dad with many things on the farm while she was growing up included picking corn, milking cows and plowing with a sulky plow. She also helped out two neighbor ladies who were expecting babies.

     On January 15, 1929 Emma married Ted DeSmet at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Seven children were born of this union. During their marriage they farmed west and south of Larchwood, however in 1940 Ted developed ulcers and they moved to Valley Springs where Ted ran a portable feed mill. In 1943 they moved back to Larchwood where Ted continued to run the portable feed mill. Ted passed away on August 10, 1972.   On March 7, 1983 Emma married Lawrence (Luke) Lucas who died in September of 1984.

     In 1953, Emma was asked to start the hot lunch program at St. Mary’s and continued to run the program until the grade school closed permanently in 1974. Emma went from cooking for the school lunch program to cooking for dinner date (senior lunch program). She became the church organist during this time frame and often had to play for funerals while preparing to feed the school children. She used her musical talent to play with a local band for about 10 years. Emma continued to play the organ at St. Mary’s for 40 years when she “retired” at age 99.  

     Emma also loved to go bowling, read, play cards, did counted cross-stitch, crochet doilies and afghans. For years she crocheted mittens and caps that were given to the needy. In August of 2015, Emma went to live at Fellowship Village in Inwood where her love of music continued to entertain the residents.

     Emma is survived by her sons Clete (Bev) DeSmet, Don (Susie) DeSmet and Dean (Nancy) DeSmet her daughters Veronica (Robert) Weins, and Jane Heirigs, her daughter-in-law Audrey DeSmet and sister Clara George.   She is also survived by her 37 grandchildren, 89 great-grandchildren and 73 great-great-grandchildren.

     She was preceded in death by her husband Ted DeSmet, second husband Lawrence Lucas, sons Alvin DeSmet and Gene DeSmet, Daughters-in-law Tina DeSmet, Darlene DeSmet and Barbara DeSmet, son-in-law Harold Heirigs, grandson Barry DeSmet, brothers Leo, Francis, Alvin and Martin Schettler, her sisters Margaret DeSmet, Loretta Roemen, Bertha Kramer, Imelda Anderson and Darlene Schettler.