Fern Stahla

Fern Stahla, 104, of Brush and formerly of Kimball, died at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff on Monday, July 6, 2015.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 10, at the First English Lutheran Church in Kimball with Sister Ann Hall officiating. There will be a prayer service on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Cantrell Funeral Home in Kimball.

Friends may call at the funeral home on Thursday from 1-5 p.m. Please visit http://www.cantrellfh.com to view the obituary and leave condolences for the family.

Memorials may be given to First English Lutheran Church in Kimball, Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Brush, Colo., or the Plains Historical Society in Kimball. The services for Fern have been entrusted to the Cantrell Funeral Home.

Fern Stahla was born in Ordway, Colo., on Oct. 25, 1910, the fifth child of George and Sophia (Markheim) Wilhelm. Fern graduated the 8th grade and began working in 1924 sorting beans in the beanery in Greeley, Colo., her maximum pay was $12.10 per week, and was scrutinized by the amount of tare you let by and the number of pounds of beans that you sorted. She was proud of the fact that she was never docked any pay. Her and her family worked the fields around Greeley, thinning and topping beets, and picking potatoes.

She was married to Carl Stahla in Kimball at St. John's Lutheran Church on March 24, 1935. In 1935 Carl and Fern moved to the Kinney ranch just west of Kimball now belonging to Fergusons, until moving to the Maginnis farm which was everything west of the Wolf Motors and from the railroad tracks south to the ditch east of the cemetery. They also had dairy cattle and a milk bottling plant. In the spring of 1941 they purchased a farm two miles west of Kimball and two miles north, they endured many hail storms and early frosts and snow and harsh winters, they farmed many places until Carl decided to retire in 1978. They did however decide to keep a garden of three to 10 acres for the next seven years.

Her husband of 50 years preceded her in death on July 18, 1985. Fern did however continue to work for the next 14 years until she retired due to injuries she received in a car accident on Memorial Day of 2000. She enjoyed her retirement spending time with grandchildren, family and friends. She loved gardening, playing cards, visiting, quilting, and attending church. She was a charter member of the First English Lutheran Church in Kimball.

Survivors include her children, Larry (Kathleen) Stahla of Kimball, Virginia Pickett of Scottsbluff, Judith (Jim) Shannon of Pharr, Texas, and Donald (Vicki) Stahla of Brush, Colo .; 11 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and 29 great great grandchildren.