Obit: Schroeder, Mabel Ann (1902 – 2004)
Poster: Crystal Wendt
Email: Post4LincolnCoWi@aol.com

Surnames: Schroeder, Bergelin, Stecker

---Source: Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, Wis.) 12 Sept. 2004

---Schroeder, Mabel Ann (18 April 1902 – 7 Sept. 2004)

Schroeder, Mabel Ann

Mabel A. Schroeder, age 99, longtime resident of Merrill, Wisconsin, died Tuesday, September 7, 2004, at Good Samaritan Health Center, Merrill.

Her funeral service will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Monday, September 13, 2004, at St. John Lutheran Church, Merrill. Burial will take place in Merrill Memorial Park. Following the committal, a luncheon for family, friends, and relatives will take place at the church.

Visitation to honor and celebrate her physical life will be from 4 P.M. to 7 P.M. on Sunday, September 12, 2004, at the Taylor-Stine Funeral Home, Merrill. Visitation will also be at the church on Monday and begin at 9:30 A.M.

Mabel was born April 18, 1905, on the family farm located between Hilbert and Chilton, Wisconsin, in Calumet County. She was the daughter of the late Gus and Ida Bergelin. Mabel enjoyed a very busy and happy childhood with her family, friends and Stecker cousins and other relatives. In later years, after her father moved from Chilton to Hilbert, Mabel’s sons and many of her nieces and nephews remember, with great fondness, the many annual summer picnic reunions at the Hilbert city park with the Bergelin and Stecker relation.

Mabel married Arthur F. Schroeder on June 2, 1932, in Chilton. Following their marriage, the couple lived briefly in Milwaukee, and then moved to Merrill. The marriage ended with Arthur’s death on November 15, 1986, in Merrill. The last of her generation, Mabel was preceded in death by four brothers, Arlin, Milford, Ervin, and Harvey Bergelin.

As a longtime member of St. John Lutheran Church, Merrill, she was active in many church groups including the Altar Guild, Ladies Aid, Choir, the Mission Circle and Bible classes. She also was very active in baking and cooking for many of the church activities.

Mabel enjoyed baking and cooking throughout her lifetime, and began this avocation at the age of 12 when she assumed her family’s baking activities. Always, when visitors stopped in to see her, coffee and a baked treat promptly appeared on the table. This same social tradition will be extended for a final time to all who honor her at the Taylor-Stine Funeral Home visitation with three of her cookie recipes.

Aside from the early child rearing years, Mabel was a major family contributor in many ways. Her major occupation, as homemaker, included cooking and baking. She also worked in many private homes and restaurants. Mabel also worked at the University Club in Milwaukee prior to her marriage. When her husband’s health forced him into early retirement, Mabel assumed his advertising business with the Preferred Advertising Company, and she became the company’s most senior salesperson.

Physical and mental activities were very important to Mabel, and she kept active throughout her life with involvement in many social activities, and by learning a wide variety of new skills. She maintained her own home until the age of 96.

Mabel is survived by two sons, Donald Schroeder, Monona, WI, and Gerald (Prue) Schroeder, St. Charles, Illinois; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Her grandchildren will dearly miss the phone conversations and visits with her, as well as her insight into family matters, but they celebrate her new life free of earthly concerns.

Memorials may be sent to Pine Crest Nursing Home, 2100 E. 6th Street, Merrill, WI 54452, to honor the outstanding care and concern the personnel at Pine Crest provide.