ERNWINE, Mina Alberta (Cagley) 1877- 1934

ERNWINE, CAGLEY, HAMILTON, FROST, SMITH, THOMAS, SCHMIDT, BAUMANN, WOLF

Posted By: Brooke Sudol (email)
Date: 8/24/2007 at 15:12:20

Funeral Services for Mrs. Mina Ernwine Largely Attended

A cortege of eighty-five cars accompanied by the funeral car bearing the body of the late Mrs. Mina Ernwine from her home to her final resting place in Greenwood cemetery last Thursday, a mute testimony of the high esteem in which the desceased was held in this community which had been her lifelong home. The service at the home was conducted by Rev. G. C. Lusted, of the Methodist church. A quartet composed of Mrs. E. C. Baumbach, Mrs. Herbert Prudhon and Messrs. E. C. Baumach and Howard Martin sang, and Messrs. Chas. Hamilton, Dale Frost, Jesse Frost, Harold Smith, Lyle Thomas and Henry Schmidt, nephews of the deceased were casket bearers.

Mina Alberta Cagley, fourth child of George and Sarah Cagley, was born in Chickasaw county near Nashua, Sept 11, 1877. With the exception of two years spent in the western part of the state, she has always lived in Chickasaw county. Here she grew to womanhood in the midst of an enlarging circle of friends.

Her marriage to Mr. John Henry Ernwine took place September 9th, 1896. Into their home came three children, all of whom survive their mother. They are: Mrs. Amy Wolf, and Forrest Ernwine, both of Nashua, and Charles Ernwine, of Des Moines. The family circle was broken when Mr. Ernwine died in 1914.

Mrs. Ernwine was not of a complaining disposition, and it was with much surprise that the community was informed of her presence at the Mercy hospital in Waverly and the imperative necessity of an operation. The operation disclosed the seriousness of her malady. She did not have the strength at her disposal to surmount the difficulties involved, and she passed away at about 9:30, Tuesday morning, April 17, 1934.

Besides the three children named above there are three grandchildren, and two brothers, Myron Cagley of Bruce, Wisconsin, and Riley Cagley of Rochester, Minnesota. One sister also remains, Mrs. Mabel Baumann of Fortuna, Missouri. Two sisters have preceded her in death.

In August 1917, Mrs. Ernwine joined the Methodist church and she has been a faithful member during the period of her membership. Sometimes, out of many virtues, it is possible to describe a person's character in one word. Mrs. Ernwine's character is best depicted by the word "helpfulness." She had a devine gift in knowing, as if by institution, a person's needs, and hers was the ability to be able, always, in some way to help that need. Her religion exhibited this practical virtue. Her's was not an untried soul, but her goodness and helpfulness was victorious virtue wrung from such formidable conflicts of life as pictured by Thomas Moore: --

"But, Thou, wilt heal the bruised heart,
Which, like the plants that throw
Their fragrance from the wounded part,
Breathes sweetness out of woe"

The loss of such a friend as Mrs. Ernwine leaves the community poorer because a power for good has prematurely been taken away.

The departed was a member of the sisterhoods of Pythian Sisters and the Royal Neighbors. It is with deepest regret that they now mark "deceased" after her name on their membership rolls.

The Nashua Reporter (Nashua, Iowa) April 25, 1934