CORDELIA E. GAAL, 99, formerly of 509 Earl St., died Tuesday, November 2, 1999 at the Clairemont. She was born on January 20, 1900 in New Hampton, Iowa to Dr. Nicholas and Martha (Pfeiffer) Schilling. In 1921 she graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelors of arts degree in English. Cordelia taught school in Iowa where she met and married Samson B. Despres in 1923. She married Albert S. Gaal in 1929. Cordelia attended mortuary science school in Milwaukee where she received her funeral director and mortician licenses. She and Albert owned and operated the Gaal Funeral Home and Ambulance Service in Eau Claire until 1945. They enjoyed gardening at their home and volunteered for charity gardens walks over the years. \r\nSurvivors include, two daughters, Emma D. Slater of Boulder, CO, and Jeanne Rickey of Albany, OR; daughter-in-law, Janet R. Gaal (widow of Richard Gaal) of Ellisville, MO; ten grandchildren, including Ellen (John) Taylor of Eau Claire; twelve great grandchildren; a brother, Dr. Bernard Schilling of Rochester, NY; and sister-in-law, Evalyn H. Schilling of Scottsdale, AZ. \r\nShe was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Samson and Albert; and two sons, Donald and Richard Gaal. \r\nFuneral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lenmark-Gomsrud-Linn Funeral Home with Pastor Jeanne L. Warner of First Lutheran Church officiating. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery. Friends may call an hour prior to services Saturday at the funeral home. The family requests that memorials be directed to First Lutheran Church or the Eau Claire Humane Society.

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