Luella C Molzer

Funeral Services for Luella C. Molzer will be held on Friday, December 14, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Holdrege, Nebraska with Pastors Kenton Birtell and Dan Wiese officiating.  Interment will be held on Saturday, December 15, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at the Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Luella C. Molzer, 97 years of age, of Holdrege, passed away at Holdrege Memorial Homes on her baptismal birthday, Tuesday, December 11, 2018.  She was born Luella Frieda Christina Schneider to Henry and Martha (Hillmer) Schneider on November 21, 1921, at the family home near Plymouth, Nebraska. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church on December 11, 1921, then confirmed at the same church on May 10, 1936. She has one younger sister, Rufina Butterfield.

Luella always felt that God had a purpose for her strong, willing and loving hands. Her mother passed away when she was just 9 years old, leaving Luella to cheerfully help her father with all the chores and duties around the farm. During this time, she attended Immanuel Lutheran Parochial School east of Plymouth, and then graduated from Plymouth High School. She decided to become a teacher, so she attended Normal Training in Diller, Nebraska where she earned room and board cleaning for a local doctor and his wife. She taught at two rural schools near Plymouth, then moved on to a school at Hallam, where she met her future husband, Edward C. Molzer.

After four years of teaching, she married Ed on June 10, 1945. They had two children: Dennis and Verneta, that they raised on a farm outside of Plymouth. God's duties for her included farming side-by-side with Ed, tending a very large garden and orchard, and sewing many clothes for herself and her family. When her children reached high school, she started working at Karpisek's Meat in Wilber, making sausages, then at Umphenour Grocery Store in Beatrice. Always up for a challenge, Luella made all the bridesmaids' and candle lighters' dresses for Dennis and Pat Bisping's wedding ceremony. She also sewed a beautiful wedding gown and attendants' dresses a few years later for Verneta's wedding to Lamar Schmidt. She cherished the six grandchildren that came along (Laura and Chris Molzer and Rob, Cammie, Jodie and Tim Schmidt), teaching them her love of Christ, gardening, sewing, cooking, and especially baking cookies. After Dennis passed away, Pat remarried and had another daughter, Tia, whom Luella loved just as much as the rest of her grandkids.  She also had a large extended family, including Mark Kassing (foster-son of Lamar and Verneta) along with his family.

Luella later taught at the Beatrice State Developmental Center, where she worked with children with profound developmental delays. With her unique combination of love, persistence, and the "patience of Job," she was able to teach them skills that greatly exceeded what many others felt were not even a possibility for those residents.

After ten years at BSDC, Ed had a stroke and Luella chose to take care of him at home. They moved in with Verneta and Lamar at the farm outside of Beatrice, and Luella helped with the daily duties and activities of the extended family, even moving with them to Holdrege in 1985. She took care of Ed at home until his health declined and he went to the nursing home for a short time. She visited him there almost daily until his death in 1991.

During those years in Holdrege, she again grew where she was planted, and the Lord found more jobs for her to do with the family and church. She was a dedicated member of the Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church Martha Society, quilting and altar committees, Bible studies, and helped to serve snacks to the kids for Wednesday classes. She was the designated pie cutter for the soup supper and cake cutter for funerals. She was a member of an extension/friendship club, a garden club, and was a substitute double-deck pinochle card player as long as her hands could hold all the cards. Luella came to be known as "Grandma" to many children whom she babysat for during card parties, Bible studies, and other church and family functions, making LOTS of cookies, as well as blankets and other cherished items. She also donated over five gallons of blood to the Red Cross.

Due to declining health, she went to live at Holdrege Memorial Homes in the fall of 2015. She sometimes wondered why she was still around, but would say that God must have more for her to do. She continued her quilting, and was on the unofficial "welcome wagon," encouraging new-comers to get involved in the various activities offered at the home, so that they would feel part of the HMH community.

In addition to cooking, sewing, and gardening (foodstuffs giving way to flowers as the years went by), Luella enjoyed garage sale-ing/bargain hunting, traveling with family and friends including her many Mother-Daughter trips planned around shopping and good food, crocheting, bird watching, making crafts, putting together puzzles, playing Bingo, and, especially in the last year, painting tea-towels and pillow cases, which she enjoyed gifting to others.

Luella was preceded in death by her parents, Martha and Henry Schneider; step-mother, Bertha Schneider; her husband, Ed Molzer; son, Dennis Molzer; an infant grandson, James David Molzer; a nephew, Steve Butterfield; and brother-in-law, Robert Butterfield.

She leaves to celebrate her reunion with her Lord, her sister, Rufina Butterfield; daughter-in-law, Pat DeLorme of Honor, Michigan; daughter, Verneta (Lamar) Schmidt of Holdrege; grandchildren: Laura (Phil) Weston, Chris (Bernice) Molzer, Tia (Adam) Cooley, Rob (Kendra) Schmidt, Cammie (Darin) Kerner, Jodie (Curtis) Scheele, Tim (Lynse) Schmidt, Mark (Deb) Kassing; great-grandchildren: Zach Molzer, Tyler and Allison Cooley; Sydnie and Shelby Schmidt; Zack (Jacci), Lanessa, and Levi Kerner; Trevor, Carson, Daylen and Anika Scheele; Austin, Cael and Kaden Schmidt; and Aaron (Kelly) Kassing, Dustin Kassing, and Katelyn Kassing; as well as a host of nieces, nephews and other loved family members and friends.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 13, 2018 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. with the family greeting from 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Holdrege.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in Luella's honor that will support her favorite Christian charities.

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

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