Thelma Herman

Thelma June (Miller) Herman was born June 9, 1926, in Sterling, Illinois, to Albert and Anna Miller. The family moved to Tama, Iowa, when she was five, then to a farm close to Marengo Iowa. She married Dean Herman on May 24, 1947, in Marengo, Iowa, and died on October 25, 2009 in Lenexa, Kansas.

Thelma's parents and husband preceded her in death. She leaves to celebrate her life eight children and their spouses: Elizabeth (Gary) Leach, Merriam, Kansas; Stephen (Diane), Curtis, Nebraska; Marijo and good friend, Joe, Lincoln, Nebraska; Timothy, Maywood, Nebraska/Portland, Oregon; Jonathan (Karmin), Olathe, Kansas; Benjamin (Janis), Olathe, Kansas; Jenifer (Dave) Cedillo, Overland Park, Kansas; Andrea (Dhruba) Chakravarti, Omaha, Nebraska. She also leaves nine grandchildren: Molly Herman, Prague, Czech Republic, Thaddeus, Portland, Maine, Georgia Herman, Lincoln, NE, Chelsea and Matthew Herman, Olathe, KS, Reggie, Sydney Herman and Haley Anderson, Olathe, KS and Brandi (Jason) Carlisle, Raymore, MO; and two great-grandchildren, Katie and Lauren Carlisle, Raymore, MO. She is also survived by a brother, Stanley Miller, Washington, DC, and a sister, Grace (Derwin) Tunks, Bucyrus, KS, four sisters-in-law, two brothers-in-law and numerous nieces, nephews and other family and friends.

Thelma moved from her Iowa home to Illinois, to attend college with Dean. After they married, they moved to Iowa City, then to Kansas City, to McCook, Nebraska, and settling finally in Curtis, Nebraska.

If Dad's presence was all powerful, Mom was the heartbeat of the family. She was the consummate mother - she loved all children and they loved her right back. She was mother to her children and her children's friends, if they needed her. And she was also a wonderful grandmother.

She filled many roles - pastor's wife, mother, bookkeeper, cook, and even worked part-time at Sunset Haven after her children were grown. She cared for the nephews that spent summers working with Dad. She taught Bible School and Sunday school. She cleaned the church. She could make a dinner for many people with one pound of hamburger and some potatoes at a moment's notice. She was an avid reader, particularly enjoying Dickens and Agatha Christie. She enjoyed walking and all of nature, especially birds, often telling stories of the animals on the farm on which she grew up.

She was devoted to her husband and helped with his care until his death in April, 2008. She was a most loving and dedicated mother to her eight children. Even as we celebrate her life, we greatly mourn her passing.