Nola D. Mcdonald

Nola Darlene McDonald, 89, of Wolbach passed away at Brookefield Park in St. Paul on Sunday, May 29, 2016 after a short battle with cancer.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday at the United Methodist Church in Wolbach Nebraska with lunch following the service.  Reverend Martin Leeper will officiate.  Nola chose to be cremated and her ashes will be buried at a later date with a private family service.

Memorials are suggested to the Wolbach United Methodist Church.

Jacobsen-Greenway Funeral Home in St. Paul is in charge of arrangements.

Nola was born September 6, 1926 in Weatherford Oklahoma to Chris and Ethel (Hodge) Hilderbrand. Growing up Nola attended school in the Weatherford area.  Her father followed the wheat harvest and her mother was a café waitress.

Nola married William Earl McDonald August 17, 1942 in Canton Oklahoma.  After marriage they remained in the Canton area and worked the cotton and broom fields.  Later Nola worked as a waitress.  Earl worked for farmers in the area and his specialty was breaking horses to ride.

In 1947 they moved to a small farm south of Wolbach near the Alvin Barr farm to try farming in Nebraska.  Farming was a hard life in those days but Nola and Earl were determined to make it work for them and their family.  Over the course of Nola’s lifetime they moved and rented farms in the Wolbach, North Star, and Cotesfield Nebraska areas.  Nola and Earl eventually settled on the Ed Johnson farm west of Wolbach where they farmed for 25 years before retiring and moving to Wolbach.

Nola worked hard all of her life as a help mate to her husband Earl.  As a farm wife she operated machinery, milked cows and fed livestock.  She would always take the children and they would go to the fields with her to work.  Nola was a devoted mother of five children.  She raised a large garden and had fruit trees.  Nola canned lots of fruit and vegetables every year.  Sewing and making clothes for the children was another way of showing her love for her family.

In the late 50’s Nola started working evenings after the chores were done at Nesiba’s Supper Club in St Paul as a cook and waitress.

After many years of farming Earl and Nola had a farm sale on Saturday January 23, 1982 and moved into the home they had purchased in Wolbach.  Nola’s work wasn’t done yet as she started working for Heritage Nursing Home in St Paul.  Over the 19 years at Heritage she had many jobs but was primarily a nurse’s aide and then moved to housekeeping before retiring.

Nola had an active life and was a member of the Wolbach Methodist Church and the highlight of that part of her life was being baptized at age 75 in 2001.  She was a tireless worker and helped at church to prepare food for meals and funerals.  Nola especially liked to bake and help with the monthly Community Club meals. Her favorite color was purple as it was well represented in her wardrobe.  Nola enjoyed spending time with family and grandchildren.  She enjoyed hobbies which included embroidery, quilting and crafts.

Earl passed away November 23, 2005 and Nola continued to live in Wolbach until October 2009 when she moved to the Matelyn Retirement Community in St Paul Nebraska.  Due to declining health issues Nola moved to Brookefield Park in St Paul in October of 2013.

Survivors include her five children and their spouses: Gary and Ardis (Marco) McDonald Omaha; Nanna and Gary Wieck, Grand Island; Ron McDonald Wolbach; Doug and Deb (Petersen) McDonald Grand Island; Teresa and Phil Rainforth of Aviano, Italy; twelve grandchildren and their spouses, Shawn McDonald, Shane & Nicole McDonald, Sharee & Andrew Cohoon, Trevor & Minh Wieck, Heather & Erin Nebesniak, Erin & Becky McDonald, Ricky McDonald, Janelle McDonald, Jenny McDonald, Brad & Marie McDonald, Logan Rainforth and Casey & Patrick Jourdan; and 14 great grandchildren.

Nola was preceded in death by her father, Chris Hildebrand and her mother, Ethel (Hodge) Hilderbrand; a brother, Carlton Hilderbrand, step-father Harry Clark, and her daughter-in-law Judy (Stevens) McDonald.