Mildred Maybelle ULMER

Mildred was the fourth child born to Alfred & Martha Munsch Ulmer.She was born on the home farm located three and one half miles east ofFullerton, North Dakota. Millie attended country school at YorktownTownship School #3 for eight years before going on to graduate fromFullerton High School in 1943. She continued her education at theNormaland Industrial College (NI) in Ellendale and earned a teachingcertificate. Millie taught one year at the same rural school she hadattended as a youngster, but decided she did not want to pursue thisas a career. She returned to college and enrolled in business. Aftercollege, Millie moved to LaMoure where she found employment with theRobideau Insurance Agency.

In 1948 she married Albert Gebhardt of rural Monango and they raisedthree children. Millie was appointed as clerk of the Monango SchoolDistrict in 1951, worked at the Farmer's Coop at Monango for 12 years,then became secretary at the local school in 1979. She also was asubstitute mail carrier for Albert and worked at the post office whenneeded. When the Monango School closed, Millie continued to wind uploose ends for the district before she retired and moved to Oakes in1996. There she became active in the community and joined St. John'sLutheran church. Then, due to failing health, she was moved to TheEvergreens in Fargo in the year 2000 where she resided until herdeath. Millie suffered from Alzheimer's and Lewy Body Disease. Shedied at theage of 77 years.

MEMORIES:

Daughter, Susan Gebhardt Meland: "As I have gotten older and thedemands on my time have gotten greater, I find myself in awe of howMom kept a routine going, e.g. she did specific
homemaking tasks on specific days of the week and was virtuallyunwavering in this regard. I don't think she ever procrastinatedabout anything. I have tried to emulate this and I don't think I'veever been able to adhere to a schedule that fixed for more than a fewconsecutive daysand I'm pretty organized! I don't know how she didit.

Mom had a really fun sense of humor that could be pretty inane attimes. Sometimes when I came home on weekends she and I would showeach other everything in our wallets. We would laugh until our sidesached at the ridiculousness of trying to trump each other withwhatever coin, currency, membership card, picture, hosiery/Subwaystamp card or piece of paper we had. The game required no dialogue asthe relative value and meaning of each item was already apparent toeach of us. Someof Mom's final days got long and on one of those daysAunt Gert, Jeanand I tried our hands at this game. Now they may havebeen humoring me, but I'm quite certain that they
were duly impressed with this game and it will be handed down to theirdescendants much like a treasured heirloom would be! Right Gertie?

Jim, Jean and I met on a number of occasions to go through Mom'sbelongings.These were interesting and moving experiences in many ways. Itwas like having a series of memories alternating between fastforwardand rewind. One "moment" we would go through a box thatreminded me of a time when I was in grade school, the next were aseries of craftsthat she made while at assisted living, another mightbe pictures andmemorabilia of Beth and Erin when they were younger andthen another might be pictures of our ancestors. On several occasionsit was apparent that the three of us were cut from the same piece ofcloth. We would go through a box of pens/pencils, envelopes andtablets and meticulously divide each three ways. Now people with less
time to spare may not have put up with this keen level of compulsionand many would have arrived at the "What in the heck are we doing?"juncture sooner. When we found ourselves at that crossroads,however,we would state with the force of genetic inevitability "We areour mother's
children!" and continue to divvy. This same line was alsoinspiredwhen we chose to save an item that most sensible people woulddiscard. It wasn't, by the way, until I was in college that Irealized thatnot every household used old socks for dishcloths!!

Mom was a great cook and could even make liver taste better byaddingbacon and onions. She was an incredibly hard worker and I don'tthink she knew the meaning of doing anything half way. When Mom smiledher whole face lit up, this didn't change when she became ill in herlast years."

Granddaughter, Erin Kirmis: "Grandma Millie was a very sharp lady,intelligent in many areas and a very hard worker. Grandma was alwaysaplanner. I remember when she was up to help mom plan for Beth'sgraduation. Grandma ran circles around both Mom and I, with theshopping, cleaning, etc.

Grandma was always a good cook. She made very good holiday meals:good gravy and good stuffing. Whenever she would come to visit, shewould bring bars or something to eat. She would always like to helparound the house. She would wash dishes, fold laundry, etc. Sheliked to come to Fargo and go rummage shopping with mom.

She has a funny wit. She would say at times, how drinking pop isbadfor you. Then she would say, "Jean, do you want to split a pop?"

Brother, Benjamin Ulmer: "Mildred was the youngest and fourth ofthe"first family." I remember Millie loved green peas out of thegarden- sometimes when she was only a few years old she would sitbetween the rows of peas and eat them even though the mosquitoes werebiting her.

Millie was a religious woman who was very loyal to her church,workedtirelessly in it's activities and loved her Lord. She was ahard worker and it was said by some that she was employed in every jobavailable in Monango and at last she held the position of Mayor. Sheenjoyedher retirement in Oakes and gained many new friends even thoughshe lived there only a few years.

We are thankful for her duties of help to our parents during theirlast years in Ellendale. Dad was always proud of his "Fuddle",(pronounced "foodle" in German), whatever that meant.

She had a temendous sense of humor! She was also very proud of herfamily and all their accomplishments. She is deeply missed by all ofus."

Brother, Milton Ulmer and wife, Avelon: "Millie, the crossword puzzlechamp and also challenge Scrabble Player. I spent many enjoyable hourswith her at the Scrabble Board. Millie was chosen the BEST student inher Confirmation Class, by Rev. Kaempchen. He rewarded her witha"special" gift; a frame for her Confirmation Certificate. Hedelivered it to the farm so none of the rest of the class would knowabout it. (They never did know about this special reward)."

Niece, Kathie Ulmer Hay: "My Aunt Millie......... what a great ladyshe was! She, too, had that wonderful Ulmer smile. Lover ofantiques, collector of everything, master scrabble player and the bestbananabread baker I've ever met; that's my Aunt Millie! We spentmany a Sunday/holiday with the Gebhardt family. I think mom andMillie took turns hosting these dinners! We always knew that a goodtime would be had by all whenever we got together. As I recall,Millie never sat down very often ......... she always seemed to be onthe go. She was very dedicated to her job at the school, she helpedUncle Albert with his mail route at times, always had a big garden,was actively involvedin whatever her kids were doing as well as inher church. I thoughtit was so neat that they never had to drive tochurch ........ they could just get there in
one minute. I always looked forward to the summer months becausethat meant that we would get to stay overnight for a couple of days.Since I lived on a farm, I thought it great that we could stay "intown" (yes, even at Monango!) Millie loved a good laugh ............shewas a good story teller, too. She also loved to read and was anavidmusic lover! I remember the big piano which sat in her diningroom .......... she loved to listen to her girls play! Those daysseems so long ago! We miss her."

Nephew, John Ulmer: "Over the years, the Ulmers and the Gebhardtsspent large amounts of time at each others' houses, particularlyduring the holidays. Of course, where there are holidays, there isfood. I really don't know what it was about Millie's recipes thatmade them unique, but her turkey dressing and gravy were unlikeanybody else's that I've ever tasted. To this day, if I close myeyes, I can still smell the aroma of her turkey dinners at the housein Monango.

The other vivid memory of Millie is her competitiveness at games. Shewas a formidable opponent, regardless of the game. I know thatMomalways considered it a high accomplishment on those occasions whenshe managed to beat Millie at Scrabble."

Nephew, Daniel Ulmer: 'I remember holidays spent with the Gebhardt's.After dinner, the adults would scramble for a place to nap while thekids would play with their Christmas presents. Mom and Milliewouldbring out the scrabble board and play for what seemed like hours.I tried to play with them once but could only last about 20 minutes."

Sister, Monica Ulmer Hallerud: "When Gert & Ed were Overseas and Annein California, I spoke to Millie on the phone quite often, as she wasmy only sister still in ND. We became great phone buddies and she wasalways informed about the latest news regarding Ulmer cousins inDickey County. She was interested in tracking family history andoftensent copies of death notices and other happenings clipped fromthe Dickey County Leader. She kept scrapbooks of family events and wedelighted in looking at them when we visited her.

I'll never forget the wonderful Gebhardt house in Monango andneitherwill my children. We all had many good times and wonderfulmeals there. Millie ran a very organized household. She loved toplay Scrabble and other board games as well as collecting anddisplaying antiques.

She was my 8th grade teacher in the country school we attended, andIremember taking "State Exams" and having difficulty with some Mathproblems on the test. I was worried I would fail and asked her forhelp. She stated she could not give me the answer, as that would becheating, but encouraged me to do my best, which I did. I passed thetest!"

Niece, Karen Hallerud Moore: "Aunt Millie will always be rememberedby her wonderful laugh. She and Mom always shared lots of funny andserious conversations in German or English. (German, if they didn'twant us to know what they were saying). I have a lot of memories ofMillie and Albert's house and yard in Monango. We camped out in theircamper one year. Other times, we slept in cousin's rooms. I don'tknowwhen we ever got to sleep! Other memories include playing boardgames in Jim's room. We played hide-n-seek outside and played on theswings and merry-go-round in the school yard. We always took theyearly trek to the big "downtown" Monango where we bought JollyRanchers at the local cafe/store. As a kid, we thought it was neatthat we could walk across the street to church. Millie will always beremembered forher loyalty to her church and family and her strong workethic. She is missed very much by all her family and extended familyand friends."

Nephew, Eric Hallerud: "Millie loved peas!" - that's what the firstUlmer history book said about Aunt Millie. She may have loved themasa child but I don't know how she had the time to love them when shewas an adult. Millie seemed to always be busy with about 10 things.Shewas a detail person's detail person. I think she single-handedlyheldthe town of Monango together by force of sheer will. Millie had aquick wit and a wry sense of humor. She would flash just a hint of acrooked smile at you when she had delivered a good line. As a kid Iremember staying in Monango during summer vacations. We always enjoyedour visits with the Gebhardt's.

I loved to rib Millie about Monango, all four square blocks of it.Once when we came to visit a neighbor's goat was wandering around inthestreet as we pulled into town. That just about said it all."

Sister, Gertrude Ulmer Anderson: "Millie and I spent a lot of timetogether. She still lived at home when she taught at our countryschool and she was my teacher when I was in 5th grade. It was kind ofhard to go home at the end of the day WITH the teacher, especially ifyou didn't do so well on a test or in class that day!

I remember when she and Albert bought their house and moved it toMonango. We spent several days, scraping old wall paper and scrubbingdown walls and ceilings before painting. Later, when I was married,andliving in Kulm, I used to spend time at her home in late summer,making clothes for her girls for school. We worked as a team, with memanning the sewing machine and she doing the cutting and hand work.In two or three days, we made whole new wardrobes for the kids.

We also spent lots of holidays together and I especially rememberhaving Christmas dinners at her house. How we all fit in the kitchento help with the meal and the clean up was amazing! The ladies alwaysplayed Scrabble in the afternoon, and always got beat! NO ONE couldplay like Millie! The kids played with all the new toys and the menandbabies took naps. Another round of holiday food finished out theday....

Millie and I were both interested in family history and spent manysummers traveling together to various county seats and trampingcemeteries in South Dakota in search of records regarding ourGrandmother Munsch and her siblings. One trip took us to Scotland,South Dakota where our mother was born. We actually found thefarmstead which was located south and a little east of Scotland.Grandma and Grandpa's old house was still on the grounds, but had beenmoved back in the yard andmade into a machine shed. Over severalyears, we finally pieced together Grandma Munsch's family of sixsisters and brothers, plus 11 halfsisters and brothers. (These areour Mauch relatives.)

I was able to spend Millie's last days with her in Fargo. When weknew she was terminal, I decided to stay there with her and thefamily.We spent time visiting, drinking coffee, eating cookies andKrispy Kremes, singing, playing music, holding her hand, sayingprayers and reassuring her that it was okay to go. It was hard to seeher leave, butam glad she no longer suffers from her debilitatingdisease. I will miss her always."

Nephew, Douglas Anderson: "I remember when Millie worked for theschool in Monango, she would have keys to the gym, so her kids and uskids would get to go in there to play. When I was little and had mytonsils out, we stopped at her house on the way home from Ellendaleand had some ice cream. Millie always had tons of stuff in herbasement and us kids were not supposed to get into it when we came tovisit! There were a lot of collectables; some were Avon bottle chesspieces. In later years, whenever I went to yard sales or antiqueshops, I would look for some and send them to her to round out thecollection. "

Niece, Gwen Anderson Struble: "I still have the cross that AuntMillie & Uncle Albert gave me for confirmation and I remember theyattended my high school graduation. I always loved going to Monangoas a child. Aunt Millie was so fun to listen to. She talked so fast! She liked to make jokes and laugh with us, and there was always a bigpan of bars on the counter or cookies in the jar. One day when wewere visiting, we went to a garage sale (she loved these), and Ibought a little penguin pin, which I still wear to teach school. Eachtime I pin it on, I smile and think of my baptismal sponsor, my mom'ssister, my Aunt Millie."

Niece, Sandra Anderson Bolduc: "Millie was always a go getter, and anover-achiever in my eyes. She did not want to slow down. Strict, butfun loving. Loved to visit and tell stories. It was fun tovisittheir house, she and Albert always loved to have company. Irememberlaughter in the house. I don't remember much else, except Ithink she was a good listener."