Ella Nora Buechler-Thomas
May 16, 1918 — September 22, 2013
Ella Nora Buechler-Thomas, 95, of Aberdeen, passed away Sunday, September 22, 2013, at Avera Mother Joseph Manor in Aberdeen.
Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, September 26, 2013, at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 624 North Jay St, Aberdeen, with Pastor Tyler Poppen officiating. Burial follows at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Aberdeen.
Schriver's Memorial Mortuary & Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW, Aberdeen, is handling arrangements.
Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Wednesday, at the mortuary, and one hour before the service.
Ella Nora Schafer was born on May 16, 1918, in Tolstoy, SD to Jacob and Katherine (Zweigardt) Schafer. She was raised in this area and attended and graduated from Java High School.
Ella married Theodore "Ted" Buechler on June 1, 1939, in Bowdle, SD. The couple made their home on a farm in that area. In 1947, they moved to Aberdeen, where Ella was employed as a buyer for Kresge's 5 and 10. She then became employed with St. Luke's as a bookkeeper and later worked for Hayes Printing as the Office Manager. Ella and Ted shared just over 24 years of marriage before he passed away on June 8, 1963.
On June 1, 1974, Ella was united in marriage to Mathias "Matt" Thomas in Aberdeen. They made their home on a farm near Aberdeen until 1992, when they moved into the city. Matt passed away on November 5, 2010, and Ella continued to make Aberdeen her home until the time of her death.
Ella was an active member of Our Savior Lutheran Church. She enjoyed volunteering her time and was recognized as Volunteer of the Year at the Aberdeen Senior Center.
Blessed to have shared Ella's life are her son, Larry (Marge) Buechler of Edina, MN; daughters, Carol (Ron) Burmeister of Rockford, IL and Betty (Jon) Mitchell of Beaumont, CA; stepson, Richard (Karen) Thomas of Aberdeen; stepdaughter, Carmelita (Dennis) Sauer of Ipswich, SD; 16 grandchildren; 39 great-grandchildren; 18 great great-grandchildren; and 1 great great-great-grandchild.
She is preceded in death by her parents; both husbands; one daughter, LaVonne; one brother, Gerhart; one sister, Emma, and three sisters in infancy.