Berns, Anna (Matt) 1858 - 1940

BERNS, MATT, POTTASH, HOEGER, SCHOULTE, WOLTER, KANN, SAEUGLING, CONNERS

Posted By: Reid R. Johnson (email)
Date: 10/29/2023 at 10:49:49

Clayton County Register, 04 Dec. 1940.

GARNAVILLO: This community mourns the passing of another pioneer, one who completed the long span of 81 years. Mrs. Herman Berns, Sr., passed away last Thursday afternoon at 5:00 o'clock, the daughter of Mathias Matt and Elizabeth Pottash, both natives of Mecklenburg, Germany, who in 1848 came to America and with many of their countrymen settled in the neighborhood of Guttenberg, in Jefferson township, Clayton county where the deceased was born on May 15, 1858. It was here where she spent her childhood days. On May 06, 1879, she married Herman Berns, Sr., the marriage taking place in the old St. Mary's church in Guttenberg with the then pastor, the Rev. F. X. Boeding officiating. Thirty of the sixty-one years of happy married life were spent on a farm near National from where they moved to Garnavillo in 1909 having lived here the past 31 years. Besides her aged husband she is survived by the following children: William, Herman, and Ben Berns, Mrs. Veronica Hoeger, and Mrs. Hattie Schoulte, as well as one sister, Mrs. Minnie Wolter. Also 34 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren survive.

The funeral services were held on Monday morning at 9:00 o'clock in St. Joseph's church with the pastor Rev. H. Scharphoff officiating at a Requiem high mass. Interment followed in St. Joseph's cemetery west of town. The casket bearers, all grandsons of the deceased were, Cyril, Wilfred, and Sylvester Berns, Herman Hoeger, Lorraine Berns and Lloyd Schoulte. The mass servers, also her grandsons were Lambert and Gerald Hoeger, Kenneth Berns and a great-grandson Leon Kann. The Rosary society of St. Joseph's church, of which Mrs. Berns was a member formed an honorary escort.

The following relatives were present at Mrs. Berns' funeral: Mr. and Mrs. Hugo Matt of Cresco, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Wolter of Waterloo, Mrs. Louis Matt, Sr., of Guttenberg, Mrs. Ray Saeugling of Ruthven, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Conners and family of Elkader.