Elsie M. Schlegel

CENTERVILLE, Ind. – Elsie M. Schlegel, age 98, passed away peacefully on October 8, 2010, at the Friends Fellowship Community in Richmond. Elsie was born in Greens Fork, Indiana on April 14, 1912, to William Benjamin “WB” Harris (father) and Linnie Stevens Harris (mother) and was a life-long resident of Wayne County, Indiana. Elsie married Luther Schlegel on August 6, 1938, at Centerville and had one child, Mark Schlegel. Besides being a school teacher for 33 years, Elsie was a devoted dairy farmer’s wife and a doting mother. Elsie was a Latin-English major graduate of Earlham College (1933) and also attended Indiana University. She taught typing, shorthand, and bookkeeping. She is a retired school teacher (Centerville School Corporation and Nettle Creek School Corporation) and worked with Mills Funeral Home on occasion. She also worked at Friends Fellowship Community and Jody’s Restaurant. Memberships included Richmond and Centerville Friends Meetings, Indiana Retired Teachers Association, Indiana Farm Bureau, Historic Centerville, Inc., and Board Member of Center Township Library and Centerville Cemetery Association. Elsie was an accomplished seamstress along with her hobbies of ceramics and quilting. A hard working woman who in her younger days raised and sold chickens and eggs to put herself thru college along with memoires of riding the underground transit system to get to Earlham. The most vivid change in her lifetime that she recalled to Mark was the birth of electricity in her home. She is survived by one son, Mark E. Schlegel (wife Dot); one grandson, Todd Schlegel; one great-grandson, Noah Schlegel of Hagerstown; a special friend/niece, Vera Chalfant; and other nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Luther Schlegel, who died in 1972; parents; sister, Anna Bertsch; and brothers, Elmer Harris, Paul Harris and Howard Harris. Visitation for Elsie M. Schlegel will be from 5 to 8:00 p.m. Monday, October 11, 2010 at Mills Funeral Home, 405 East Main Street, Centerville. Funeral service will be at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 12, 2010, at Mills Funeral Home with Chaplain David Garman officiating. Burial will be in Crown Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Centerville Women’s Cemetery Association, 407 Short Street, Centerville, IN 47330 or West Grove Cemetery Association, c/o John Kempton, 212 Windingbrook Drive, Centerville, IN 47330. Condolences may be sent to the family via the guest book at www.doanmillsfuneralhome.com.

Elsie M. Schlegel

April 14, 1912 - October 8, 2010