Thea A. Shield

Funeral Services for Thea A. Shield will be conducted from the Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege, Nebraska on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. with Chaplain Jean Clayton, officiating. Interment will be in the Prairie Home Cemetery at Holdrege.

Thea Alice Shield, 84 years of age, longtime Holdrege resident, passed away on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at Holdrege Memorial Homes. Thea was born October 27, 1922 at Lincoln, Nebraska, one of nine children of George and Mary (Burgess) Laub. She received her education from Lincoln, graduating from Jackson High School with the class of 1940. Following her education, Thea worked at the Glenn L. Martin Company in Omaha, Nebraska, manufacturing munitions for WW II.

On December 25, 1948 she was united in marriage to Kenneth L. Shield at Lincoln and they were blessed with six children: Cheryl, Diane, Linda, Marsha, John and Gary. The couple lived on a farm outside of Oxford until 1950 when they made their home in Holdrege.

Thea was a wonderful mother who loved homemaking, and took great pride in her six children. She was well known for her cooking skills, and her lemon meringue and pumpkin pies were legendary. Thea was a born comedian, and had a quick comeback for any situation. She loved all life had to offer and her motto was "Everything's just fine." She had many, many friends who enjoyed her positive outlook on life and her sense of humor. After all the children had graduated from school, she worked at Becton-Dickinson as an inspector. On May 31, 1997 she was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth. In March of 2006 she made her home at Holdrege Memorial Homes.

Thea loved to sew, embroider, crochet and was an avid member of the Thimble-Needle Club for many years. She also loved to play cards, especially pinochle and pitch. In her later years, she was involved in many social activities at the Holdrege Senior Center.

She leaves to mourn her passing her four daughters: Cheryl Zangara and her husband, Tony of Sierra Vista, Arizona, Diane Shield of Holdrege, Linda Shield of Comstock, Nebraska and her fiancé, Ron Scheitzer of Berwyn, Nebraska and Marsha Graf and her husband, Pat of Holdrege; two sons: John Shield of Long Beach, California and Gary Shield of Holdrege; eight grandchildren; thirteen great-grandchildren; one sister, Mimi Langenheim of Florida; two brothers: Yutch Laub of California and Dude Laub of Arizona and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers and three sisters.

Mrs. Shield will lie in state at the Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege on Thursday, April 26, 2007 from 1:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. A memorial has been established in her memory.

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.