Obituaries from the Bowdle (SD) Pioneer

The funeral service was at Zion Lutheran Church at Ashley, ND on Thursday, Oct. 7, with the Rev. Martin J. Simmons of Ashley, ND, and the Rev. Susan Wolf of Aberdeen officiating.

Burial was at Zion Lutheran Cemetery at Ashley, ND, under the direction of Miller-Huebl Funeral Home of Aberdeen.

Emma Trautman, the daughter of Jacob and Eva (Zoller) Trautman, was born at Zeeland, ND, on May 2, 1091. She attended school in that area and worked on the family farm when she was young.

She married Fred E. Merkel at Zeeland on Nov. 25, 1919. They farmed north of Eureka until 1946, when they retired from farming and moved to Ashley, ND, where her husband was an auctioneer and cattle buyer. Mr. Merkel died on May 11, 1955 and she continued to live at Ashley.

In May 1960 she was married to Emil Spiry at Aberdeen. They lived in Bowdle. In 1982 she moved to Aberdeen and lived at the Homestead until January, 1987, when she became a resident of the Aberdeen Living Center.

She was a member of Zion Lutheran Church, the Zion Lutheran Church women, and a past member of the Bowdle Area Senior Citizens.

She is survived by two sons and daughters-on-law.: George F. and Martha Merkel of Huron and James E. and Stella Merkel of Aberdeen; one daughter: Mrs. Herb (Mary Jane) Oster of Marysville, WA; one daughter-in-law: Gertrude Merkel of Monticello, IL; 13 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her first husband, her second husband, one son, one daughter, three brothers, eight sisters and two grandchildren.

Pallbearers were Gregory Merkel, Scott Merkel, Andrew Merkel, Leo Merkel, Gordon Ehmke and Milton Merkel.

Back to the RootsWeb home page.