Mary A. (Rettenmaier) Thurlimann 1871-1901

THURLIMANN, RETTENMAIER

Posted By: Joe Conroy (email)
Date: 7/24/2010 at 17:42:09

The Carroll Herald
Carroll, Iowa
1 May 1901
Page 5

Sad Summons.

Mary A., Wife of Edward Thurlimann, Passes Away Saturday Morning. Funeral Monday Forenoon at SS. Peter and Paul's Church.

Death in its busy rounds has again visited this community and plucked from the bosom of her family the loving wife of Edward Thurlimann. So recently had she been known to her friends the seeming embodiment of health that the announcement Saturday morning that her spirit had taken flight to the great beyond at 6:15 was received with a sudden sadness that was no less than shocking. Though known only to the family, Mrs. Thurlimann had not been in good health for over two years. She had suffered internal injuries till her general health was menaced and a surgical operation seemed her only road to ultimate restoration to health. Accordingly, only two weeks ago today she went to Wright's hospital, and the following day underwent a surgical operation. She went through the ordeal in apparently good condition and it was thought she had passed the danger line and would regain strength at an early date. However, last Thursday her condition excited apprehension of the nurses and attending physicians and the family were sent for. Her condition seemed due more to a nervous state than to any physical trouble traceable to the operation. She rallied Friday and it was thought she would recover, but a change for the worse came Friday night, and as the sun rose on one of the most beautiful days of this spring she passed away.

The funeral was held Monday. Starting from the residence, corner Eighth and Court, the procession, which was one of the longest we have ever seen in Carroll, wended its mournful way to SS. Peter and Paul's church. Promptly at ten the chant of solemn high mass was sounded and for the next three-quarters of an hour the solemn ceremonies impressed themselves deep into the hearts of the mourning congregation. Then the body was consigned to earth in the cemetery of the parish.

The biography of this gentle wife and tender mother is brief. For lovely and loving woman often lives within her home, brightening the world only through the lives she moulds and administering to the needs of humanity through channels not seen by the public eye. Her deeds do not fill the pages of history, but they give character to the forces that move the world. Mary Rettenmaier was born in Blackhawk county, Iowa, in 1871, and lived there till 1874 when she came to Carroll county with her parents, who settled in Kniest township. Her father, Joseph Rettenmaier, was for years a member of the board of supervisors of this county, and after his death the family in 1891 moved to Carroll. Five years ago last September she was married to Edward Thurlimann and to them two children were born, Leota, a daugher of 4 years, and Otmar, a son of 15 months. Their life has been one of singular felicity, their beings happily blending so as to make a harmonious and joyous union. They lived in each other's lives and each sought to make the other happy. She was a woman of sweetness of disposition and devotion to those near her. Life seemed full of hope and gave promise of high ends attained. But in the midst of all this hope and promise the silver thread was sundered, and the pitcher was broken at the fountain. Such indeed is the lot of us all, and whether it comes early in life as in the case of this good wife and mother or later when the allotted time has passed, the tenderest ties are sundered and grief is heavy with those who mourn. How cheerful the providence of God that promises immortality and a life beyond this physical death. It is only through this avenue that the family now bowed down can see light.