Minnie died in Emporia at 101-years-old; she was 3 months short of being 102-years-old. She was born Wilhelmina Anna Renata Foerster, in 1901. She was married to Emil Herman Hitzeman(n), who died in 1954. They married in 1919, at Zion Lutheran church in Olpe, Kansas. Her parents were the first couple to marry in Zion Lutheran church; it was also her family that donated the land that the church and cemetery were put on.
Her parents were Reinhold Otto Foerster, a farmer born in Germany, and Wilhelmina Schmidt, a Volga German born in Russia.
Minnie was the eldest child; she had several younger siblings - all but one had passed away before she did.
Minnie had 5 children. Minnie's daughter, Wilhelmina "Wilma" passed away from a Brain Tumor in 1981.
She enjoyed gardening, feeding birds, spending time with family, and collecting angels and dolls. She also liked cats; she couldn't have any in her rented duplex, but there were a couple of regular strays that she'd feed meat and gravy scraps.
What I remember about her is, she was always very quiet, but kind to everyone she ever met. She was a soft-spoken person. She always had hard candies, after dinner mints, and something freshly baked for visitors. She just lived a block away from her daughter, Dorothy, my grandmother. When I went to stay with my grandparents, I'd always walk down the block to visit great-grandma - it was the highlight of my visits.
She grew up speaking both English and German fluently, as her mother was only fluent in German. After she married, she raised her own children on a farm in the same town she was born and raised in, Olpe, Kansas.
Minnie moved to Emporia some years after the passing of her husband; she moved into a little duplex and lived on her own in the duplex until she was 100-years-old, when she developed Congestive Heart Failure.
Her parents were Reinhold Otto Foerster, a farmer born in Germany, and Wilhelmina Schmidt, a Volga German born in Russia.
Minnie was the eldest child; she had several younger siblings - all but one had passed away before she did.
Minnie had 5 children. Minnie's daughter, Wilhelmina "Wilma" passed away from a Brain Tumor in 1981.
She enjoyed gardening, feeding birds, spending time with family, and collecting angels and dolls. She also liked cats; she couldn't have any in her rented duplex, but there were a couple of regular strays that she'd feed meat and gravy scraps.
What I remember about her is, she was always very quiet, but kind to everyone she ever met. She was a soft-spoken person. She always had hard candies, after dinner mints, and something freshly baked for visitors. She just lived a block away from her daughter, Dorothy, my grandmother. When I went to stay with my grandparents, I'd always walk down the block to visit great-grandma - it was the highlight of my visits.
She grew up speaking both English and German fluently, as her mother was only fluent in German. After she married, she raised her own children on a farm in the same town she was born and raised in, Olpe, Kansas.
Minnie moved to Emporia some years after the passing of her husband; she moved into a little duplex and lived on her own in the duplex until she was 100-years-old, when she developed Congestive Heart Failure.
Minnie died in Emporia at 101-years-old; she was 3 months short of being 102-years-old. She was born Wilhelmina Anna Renata Foerster, in 1901. She was married to Emil Herman Hitzeman(n), who died in 1954. They married in 1919, at Zion Lutheran church in Olpe, Kansas. Her parents were the first couple to marry in Zion Lutheran church; it was also her family that donated the land that the church and cemetery were put on.
Her parents were Reinhold Otto Foerster, a farmer born in Germany, and Wilhelmina Schmidt, a Volga German born in Russia.
Minnie was the eldest child; she had several younger siblings - all but one had passed away before she did.
Minnie had 5 children. Minnie's daughter, Wilhelmina "Wilma" passed away from a Brain Tumor in 1981.
She enjoyed gardening, feeding birds, spending time with family, and collecting angels and dolls. She also liked cats; she couldn't have any in her rented duplex, but there were a couple of regular strays that she'd feed meat and gravy scraps.
What I remember about her is, she was always very quiet, but kind to everyone she ever met. She was a soft-spoken person. She always had hard candies, after dinner mints, and something freshly baked for visitors. She just lived a block away from her daughter, Dorothy, my grandmother. When I went to stay with my grandparents, I'd always walk down the block to visit great-grandma - it was the highlight of my visits.
She grew up speaking both English and German fluently, as her mother was only fluent in German. After she married, she raised her own children on a farm in the same town she was born and raised in, Olpe, Kansas.
Minnie moved to Emporia some years after the passing of her husband; she moved into a little duplex and lived on her own in the duplex until she was 100-years-old, when she developed Congestive Heart Failure.
Her parents were Reinhold Otto Foerster, a farmer born in Germany, and Wilhelmina Schmidt, a Volga German born in Russia.
Minnie was the eldest child; she had several younger siblings - all but one had passed away before she did.
Minnie had 5 children. Minnie's daughter, Wilhelmina "Wilma" passed away from a Brain Tumor in 1981.
She enjoyed gardening, feeding birds, spending time with family, and collecting angels and dolls. She also liked cats; she couldn't have any in her rented duplex, but there were a couple of regular strays that she'd feed meat and gravy scraps.
What I remember about her is, she was always very quiet, but kind to everyone she ever met. She was a soft-spoken person. She always had hard candies, after dinner mints, and something freshly baked for visitors. She just lived a block away from her daughter, Dorothy, my grandmother. When I went to stay with my grandparents, I'd always walk down the block to visit great-grandma - it was the highlight of my visits.
She grew up speaking both English and German fluently, as her mother was only fluent in German. After she married, she raised her own children on a farm in the same town she was born and raised in, Olpe, Kansas.
Minnie moved to Emporia some years after the passing of her husband; she moved into a little duplex and lived on her own in the duplex until she was 100-years-old, when she developed Congestive Heart Failure.
