Edna Marie Einspahr

Edna Marie Einspahr, 96, of St. Paul died Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at the Howard County Community Hospital in St. Paul.



Services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in St. Paul. The Reverend Joseph Javorsky will officiate. Interment will be at 3:30 p.m. in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery northeast of Holstein. Visitation will be held on Friday, from 5 - 7 p.m. at Jacobsen-Greenway Funeral Home in St. Paul.



Memorials are suggested to St. Mark's Lutheran Church or the Howard County Hospital Foundation.



Mrs. Einspahr was born February 29, 1912 to Chester Wray Leopold and Bertha Iva (Gangwish) Leopold at Juniata, NE. Edna was baptized March 11th, 1928 in the Christian Church at Trumbull, NE.



She received her elementary and high school education from Kenesaw Public School. Following her graduation in 1929, she taught school in rural Adams County, NE.



On August 4, 1932, Edna was united in marriage to Victor Hans Gustav Einspahr at the Trinity Lutheran Church parsonage in Grand Island, NE. Their first home was located in Deshler, NE. where Victor was employed by the Deshler Broom Factory. Their three children were born during this time. Job transfers took the family to Omaha, NE and then to Palmer, KS. During the 2nd World War, Victor's place of employment was shut down due to war caused supply shortages, and they made the decision to return to NE to farm. For most of their lives, Victor and Edna enjoyed hunting and fishing together, especially in the 1930's. They lived in the Hastings and Trumbull communities before moving to Doniphan where they continued to farm for twenty-five years before retiring in 1972 to Holstein, NE.



Following Victor's death on March 17th, 1985, Edna continued to make her home in Holstein for several years before moving to St. Paul, NE in 1991 to be closer to her daughter.



Edna was gifted with many artistic talents that she used in various ways throughout her long life. In addition to their vegetable garden, she always planted a flower garden, as she loved to pick the blooms and arrange bouquets for their home. Edna always loved to read and one of her favorite books from long ago was on flower arranging. An equally interesting book was on cake decorating and Edna became widely known for her angel food wedding and special occasion cakes. She mixed the angel food cakes from scratch, baked them in various sizes and shapes, and decorated them to order.



Following their move to Holstein, Edna took painting lessons. Many people still enjoy her lovely oil paintings. She crocheted afghans, doilies as well as baby hats for the newborns at Howard County Community Hospital. She was still crocheting at 96 to the delight of her children and grandchildren, as her gifts are treasured. Edna accompanied her daughter Janis on many vacation trips and enjoyed reading, watching classic movies and visiting with family and friends.



She was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Holstein and an associate member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church of St. Paul.



Edna is survived by one son and daughter-in-law, Lamoine and Emaline Einspahr of Hastings, NE; two daughters and a son-in-law, Carol and Lyle Rasmussen of St. Paul, NE, and Janis Brunken of Arvada. CO.; ten grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren; one brother and sister-in-law, Dean and Rosella Leopold of Loomis, NE, and two sisters and a brother-in-law, Ruth Long of Atlanta, NE and Ina June and Ernest Winkelman, Littleton, CO.



In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, two infant brothers, Chester Earl and Joseph Blain Leopold, and a son-in-law, Leon Brunken.