Mabel M. Skubinna 1909-2006

SKUBINNA, HUEGLI, SUHR, ALBERT, PARKER, PARK

Posted By: Dorothy Gosse (email)
Date: 10/29/2010 at 11:36:32

OELWEIN — Mabel M. Skubinna, 97, died of natural
causes Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006, at Mercy Hospital of
Franciscan Sisters, Oelwein, after a brief illness.
Funeral services will be 1:30
p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the
Geilenfeld Funeral Home in
Oelwein, with burial at Long
Grove Cemetery in Maynard.
Friends may call from 4 to 6
p.m. Tuesday and until service
time Wednesday at the funeral
home.
She was born Mabel Minnie
Ricka Louise Charlotte Huegli,
Feb. 20, 1909, at Maynard, the
daughter of Reinhold Albert and
Anna Suhr Huegli. Mabel was
baptized on March 21, 1909 at the Evangelical Lutheran
-Church in Maynard, She was later confirmed April 13,
1924, at Zion Lutheran Church in Oelwein. Mabel attended
school for many years in Maynard while growing up on the
family farm.
Mabel Huegli married Otto Herman Skubinna on Jan. 24,
1925, in the Lutheran Church at Independence. On their
honeymoon, they stayed at a hotel next to a gold mine in
South Dakota. Otto worked for the Chicago Great Western
Railroad for more than 45 years. The couple resided in
Oelwein.
During the Great Depression, Mabel and Otto lived at
Decorah, a Norwegian community north of Oelwein. Life
was difficult and Otto washed walls and ceilings of various
stores downtown for whatever they were willing to pay. He
usually made 50 cents an hour or perhaps $4 a day. From
1928 to 1936, Otto also sold and repaired furnaces in the
Decorah area. The couple had three sons, Delbert, Leon
Arthur and Edwin.
Mabel was known as a kind, caring, inquisitive and industrious
woman. She was very active in church affairs, having
attended Zion Lutheran Church in Oelwein for more than 50
years. She was also an artist who worked with needle and
thread. Her hobby was quilt-making and she had created
many beautiful quilts for people who'appreciated them for
tttett fine workmanship. Her son, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren
all treasured the quilts which Mabel gave
them.
She is survived by her son Leon (Helen) Skubinna of
Cedar Falls; grandchildren, Martin L. Skubinna of
Washington, D.C., Robin A. Albert of Glenwood, and Neil
W. Skubinna of South Carolina; great-grandchildren,
Rebecca A. Albert of Rochester, Minn., Brook E. (Albert)
Parker of Gretria, Neb., and Luke E. Albert of Waverly; and
great-great-granddaughter, Mara Park of Gretna.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Otto,
1904-1990; sons Delbert, 1925-1990, and Edwin, 1933; her
parents, Reinhold and Anna Huegli; brothers, Emil, 1902-
1991, Alvin, 1906-2000, Erwin, 1913-1969, and Albert
Huegli, 1918-1988.