Roder, Sylvia 1911-2008

RODER, GEHRENS, KLEIN

Posted By: Mary Holub, volunteer (email)
Date: 11/26/2008 at 11:36:14

From: Le Mars Daily Sentinel, November 26, 2008

Sylvia Roder, 97, of Remsen, died Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008, at Happy Siesta Health Care Center in Remsen.

Sylvia Roder was born Aug. 14, 1911, at rural Remsen, the daughter of Michel J. and Anna (Gehrens) Klein. Sylvia was raised in the Remsen area and received her education in both the rural school system and St. Mary Catholic School in Remsen. She then did domestic work in the Remsen area.

On Feb. 20, 1933, she married Alphonse J. Roder at Remsen. They made their home east of town where they were engaged in farming. In 1942, they purchased their own farm northwest of Remsen to which they moved and operated until retiring in March 1971. They moved into Remsen in January 1975. Alphonse died May 28, 1994.

In June 2000, Sylvia moved to Park Place Estates in Le Mars. She had been a resident of Happy Siesta since Nov. 11, 2003.

She was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Remsen and Christian Womens Guild.

Survivors include three sons and their wives, Gerald and Clarice of Granville, Richard and Mary of Remsen, Paul and Betty of Raytown, Mo.; two daughters and their husbands, Janice and Merlyn Klein of Le Mars, and Karen and Dennis Schemmel of Overland Park, Kan.; one daughter-in-law, Helen Roder of Des Peres, Mo.; 26 grandchildren; nine stepgrandchildren; 52 great-grandchildren; 29 great-stepgrandchildren; seven great-great-stepgrandchildren; one brother, Melvin "Jim" and his wife Kathleen Klein of Remsen; three sisters, Elnora Kelsey of Storm Lake, Kathleen Hansen of Waterloo, Marcella and her husband Ed Weber of North Hills, Calif.; and one sister-in-law, Jill Klein of Lincoln, Calif.

Preceded in death by her parents, one son, James; one granddaughter, Julie Roder; and five brothers, Martin, Elmer, Ray, Joe and Irvin Klein.

Funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Mary Catholic Church in Remsen. Presider will be the Rev. William McCarthy, with the Rev. Terry Roder serving as homilist, and concelebrating priests Msgr. Nicholas J. Ruba and the Revs. Paul Eisele and Richard D. Ball. Burial will be in St. Mary Cemetery in Remsen. Friends may call after 2 p.m. Sunday. There will be a rosary at 3 p.m. by the Christian Womens Guild and a vigil prayer service at 7:30 p.m., all at the Fisch Funeral Home in Remsen.

Casketbearers will be her grandsons with her granddaughters serving as honorary bearers.