Mildred Irene (Hampel) AX

AX, HAMPEL, HOYT, KINSELLA, VAN WERT, POIREL, BROWN, PRITCHARD, HEUBERGER, NEUBERGER, HYDE, FOSTER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 7/10/2010 at 22:28:19

The Garner Leader & Signal -- Iowa
August 1, 2007

Mildred I. Ax, 97, of Garner, died on Wednesday, July 25, 2007, at the Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt. Funeral services were held at 10:00 a.m., on Monday, July 30, at the Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Garner, with Pastor Donna Buckman officiating. Music was provided by organist, Margaret Jass who accompanied congregational hymns. Special music was provided by flutist, Susan Ax. Ushers were Allan DeWitt and Alan Jass. Casket bearers were Bill Hampel, Bill Foster, Mike Pritchard, Tom Hyde, Tanner Kinsella and Ethan Brown. Burial was in the Concord Township Cemetery, Garner. The Cataldo Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Mildred Irene Ax, the daughter of William John and Bess (Hoyt) Hampel, was born on August 29, 1909, on a farm near Blairstown in Benton County, Iowa. She moved with her family to South Dakota and, at the age of six, returned with them to Iowa settling in Hancock County. She attended rural schools and graduated from the Garner High School in 1927 with a Normal Training Teaching Certificate. Mildred taught in the rural schools of Hancock County for five years. During her summer breaks she continued her education at Iowa State University in Ames. On October 16, 1931, she was married to Richard T. Ax at her parent's farm near Garner. They farmed in the Garner and Klemme areas, until moving to a farm south of Ventura in March of 1942. In 1954, they moved into Ventura. After retirement they traveled all over the U.S. and to many foreign countries. In 2003, she moved to the Concord Care Center in Garner. She enjoyed her family, nature and gardening. Her love of nature led her to become a Master Gardener and master floral judge, with many years of experience judging horticulture at the Iowa State Fair and numerous county fairs. Mildred was a member of Zion Evangelical and Zion Women's Fellowship. She belonged to the Lake View Study Club, Ventura Garden Club and was a charter member of the Federated Garden Club in Ventura. 4-H was an important part of Mildred's life from the time she was a teenager. She was a charter member of the first girls' 4-H Club in Ell Township and served as a state 4-H officer in 1927. As an adult, she was a 4-H Leader and had served as a member of the Hancock and Cerro Gordo County 4-H Boards. In 2002, she became the first member from Hancock County to be selected for the new Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame.

Mildred is survived by her three children, Eunice Kinsella of Garner, Richard (Yesenia) Ax of Ventura and Susan (James Van Wert) Ax of Hayward, California; three grandchildren, Kathryn Kinsella, Kirk Kinsella and Annalisa Poirel; seven great-grandchildren, Tanner Kinsella, Caleb Brown, Tori Kinsella, Ethan Brown and Anders, Solveig and Isolde Poirel; one great-great-grandchild, Raygen Kinsella; two sisters, Winifred Pritchard of Osage and Shirley Heuberger of Reno, Nevada; as well as many nieces and nephews who have always been very special to their "Aunt Mid". She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard in February of 1986; her parents; son-in-law, Mike Kinsella; grandchildren, Karen Kinsella and Thomas Kinsella; sisters, Beverly Hyde and Dorothy Foster; and brothers, Earl and Arnold "Bub" Hampel.