Emma E. Fiet, 93, of Mabel, MN, formerly of Waukon, IA, died Sunday, February 15, 2009 at the Green Lea Manor Nursing Home in Mabel, MN. Funeral services will be held Thursday, February 26th at 2:00 PM at Zalmona Presbyterian Church in Waukon, with Pastor Tom Buresh officiating. Burial will held in Zalmona Cemetery, rural Waukon. Friends may call from 4:00 - 7:00 PM Wednesday at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon.
Emma Esther (Meier) Fiet was born September 25, 1915 in Ludlow Township, Allamakee County, rural Waukon, IA, the daughter of Paul F. and Helen (Sanderman) Meier. She was baptized and attended the Zalmona Presbyterian Church, in rural Waukon and attended rural Krumme Ludlow #3 through eighth grade and then lived in Waukon while attending Waukon High School. When she was in high school her mother died of a stroke at the age of 51, leaving Emma responsible for her brothers Martin, Rueben and Amos. On November 5, 1936 she married Arthur Conrad William Fiet. They lived and worked together on her home farm where they raised dairy cows and raised crops. Emma's father Paul Meier lived with the family until his death in 1953, at the age of 77. Emma and Arthur had three children, Marlene, Norman and Ronald. Ronald drowned in an underground buttermilk tank on the family farm when he was two years old.
During their farming years Emma was known for her generous hospitality, providing board and room for friends and relatives home on military leave. She enjoyed gardening, healthful cooking, church activities, and keeping tack of family history. Emma did the bookkeeping for the Ludlow rural schools and for the Zalmona Presbyterian Church for many years before retiring. After her retirement she sold Shaklee products and worked for a short time at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon in the housekeeping department. After Arthur recovered from a cerebral aneurysm in 1964, they built a home in Waukon and sold the Ludlow Township farm to Sharon and Larry Snitker, who continue farming there. Arthur died on January 12, 1990. Emma continued to live alone until November of 1999, when she went to the Green Lea Manor Nursing Home in Mabel, MN.
Survivors include her children, Marlene (Duane) Fenstermann of Decorah, IA and Dr. Norman (Irene Harrison) Fiet of Bend, OR and Surprise, AZ; and her grandsons, Mark (Lena Tielmann) Fenstermann of Siegburg, Germany and Kevin Fiet of Salem, OR. She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Arthur; her son, Ronald; a granddaughter, Rachel Fiet; 4 brothers, Edward, Martin, Rueben and Amos Meier; and life-long friends and relatives, many who attended the rural Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, Zalmona Presbyterian Church and Salem United Church of Christ Church all in Ludlow Township.