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Obituary for Velva T. Bauer
Velva Theodora Bauer, 97 years, of Grantsburg, WI, died peacefully at home surrounded by her family on June 13, 2015.
Velva was born on August 13, 1917 to her loving parents, Ida and Stanley Clementson. Velva, the oldest of 7 sisters, was raised in a close family. Their love for each other saw them through the often-hard times on the family farm near Branstad.
She attended Branstad School through 8th grade and graduated from Grantsburg High School after which she attended Teachers Training in Grantsburg teaching at Randall and North Fork Rural Schools. Later in life she taught Head Start for several years in the Grantsburg area.
In October of 1941 Velva took the train alone from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to meet Ernie Bauer who proposed to her after a short courtship (maybe 3 dates) and many letters back and forth to each other. On October 11, 1941 they were married in Las Vegas and resided in Los Angeles for one year until moving back to Grantsburg area when Ernie was drafted into the Air Force. After he was honorably discharged they moved to Minneapolis and then later back to Grantsburg where Ernie worked farmed and helped on his parents farm.
Velva and Ernie resided on their farm in the Branstad area for the rest of their married life. After Ernies death Velva continued to live there with her daughter Cilla until her death at the age 97 years, and 10 months.
Velva and Ernie had a good marriage lasting 47 years with three daughters born to them, Pauline, Patricia, and Priscilla.
Velva was baptized and confirmed at St.Olaf Lutheran church, which later became Bethany Lutheran and was a faithful member there all her life. She was the churchs oldest member.
Velva became a vegetarian after Ernies death and followed an active lifestyle. Always full of energy she would bound up and down two flights of stairs several times a day. She enjoyed being outside doing yard work, cleaning her house, and making sure all the clothes were always washed.
Identifying birds coming to her bird feeder was a hobby very much enjoyed by Velva. She also was quite the expert on wildflowers. She owned many wildflower books and took great pleasure looking through them to identify new flowers she and Cilla would find while on rides on Crex Meadows.
Velva was also an avid reader, sometimes finishing two books a week. Her love of poetry was apparent with the many clippings on her refrigerator and in her scrapbooks.
She took pride in keeping her checkbook to the penny right up to the week of her death. She also took pride in her penmanship with many people commenting on her perfectly beautiful handwriting.
Velva wrote many beautiful composed, interesting and touching letters and notes to her family and friends, many of which they kept as keepsakes.
Throughout their marriage Velva and Ernie took trips to Florida, California, and Las Vegas, where they visited the wedding chapel where they were married.
Velva also enjoyed 16 trips with her daughter Cilla to Palisade, Colorado to get peaches and bring them back to friends and family. They also visited the Grand Canyon, Door County, and had an adventure to England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Later in her life three stray cats came to live with Velva and Cilla. Though at times they could be quite exasperating (jumping on the table) her kittys gave her much joy and comfort.
Velva was a very caring and selfless person who always put others first. She helped care for her mother and father in their declining years and Ernie during his illness.
She had many happy times taking care of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and enjoyed spending time with her daughters and also her sisters with whom she alway
