Verna Elizabeth (Davis) OEHLERT

OEHLERT, DAVIS, JONES, KING, SPRINGER, SHEAR, MONSON, STEEPLETON

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 5/24/2009 at 17:54:26

Mason City Globe Gazette, Iowa
March 4, 1997

CLEAR LAKE, IA -- Verna Elizabeth Oehlert, 71, of 106 Fairway Drive, died Sunday (March 2, 1997) at North Iowa Mercy Health Center East, Mason City. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Clear Lake United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Fred Lewis officiating. Burial will be in Mount Vernon Township Cemetery, rural Rockwell. Visitation will begin at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. Fourth St. The family suggests memorials may be given to the Arthritis Foundation.

Verna was born Sept. 29, 1925, in rural Carpenter, the daughter of Thurman and Verna E. (Jones) Davis. She attended rural school near Burchinal in her early years, then high school at Swaledale. Verna was a strong defensive guard on the Swaledale girls basketball team. Transferring to Ventura her senior year, she graduated in May of 1942. She attended and completed Hamilton Business College. She was a member of the Hamilton Business Raiderettes basketball team. Howard M. Oehlert proposed to Verna in the spring of 1943. Off to war he went. Then while back on furlough, March 7, 1943, Verna and Howard were wed at Grandfather King's house, where Dennis and Sharon Springer now reside. Margaret Ann was born in the fall of 1945, stillborn. Verna and Howard were a team. Verna operated tractors, disked, plowed, cultivated corn and soybeans plus operated a "Super M" with a mounted two-row corn picker. She drove a tandem grain truck for Oehlert-Miller Cornshelling & Trucking. What Verna enjoyed in her job tasks, besides gathering eggs, was the spring of the year when 70 Black Angus cows would have their baby calves. The joy of life. Francis Miller and Verna enjoyed many a room hanging wallpaper together with friends during the mid-1950s. In the spring of 1966, arthritis started to battle Verna. To rid herself of physical farm tasks, she went to work at the Clear Lake Mirror Reporter as a writer, ad salesperson and photographer. She also enjoyed writing poems. She liked her work there, plus met many friends along the way. Verna was very active in politics during the 1970s. She organized and ran many successful campaigns for State Senator Alvin Miller. She also worked on President Jimmy Carter's state campaign, as well as the Howard Oehlert for Supervisor campaign. Verna loved people and they loved her back. She battled arthritis in 10 different surgeries and won every time. They gave her new knee replacements and knuckles of fingers. During her last few years, she met new friends through bingo. Her hobbies also included crossword puzzles and writing lovely poems. She kept her spirits up and enjoyed every person that phoned, wrote or stopped by to visit. Until we meet again.

She is survived by her husband, Howard Oehlert, of Clear Lake; three sons, Richard C. Oehlert and his wife, Cherie Lee; David B. Oehlert; and Garry W. Oehlert and his wife, Julie, all of Clear Lake; six grandchildren, Angie Oehlert, Jonathon Shear, Brooke E. Oehlert, Syreeta L. Monson, Grant W. Oehlert, and Andy C. Monson; a brother, Thurman Oscar Davis and his wife, Maxine, of Clear Lake; and many special relatives. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Lawrence Steepleton, Gerald Steepleton, Burl Steepleton, Eugene Steepleton, Thomas Steepleton and Ray Davis; an infant brother, Vernon Steepleton; a daughter, Margaret Ann Oehlert; and a grandson, Charlie Shear.