She recently told us that she was looking forward to seeing her mom and dad, her brothers and sisters and especially our dad, Bill, again. She headed for the reunion with them in Heaven on Tuesday, April 4, 2017, after passing away at the Reflections Hospice unit at Dove Healthcare West in Eau Claire, WI. Our mom, Geneva "Gen" Angeline (Johnson) Klemmer was born in Whitehall, WI, on November 12, 1919, the third oldest of seven children born to Gunder and Anna Johnson. When mom was five years old the family moved to Eau Claire, where she attended Third Ward School for a year then Second Ward School, later known as Boyd School-the grade school that we, her two children attended, and where she eventually worked as a teacher's aide from 1977 to 1982. Our grandparents were hard-working, honest people who instilled in their children the same values, as well as making sure they were baptized into Christ, sent to Sunday School and were confirmed. Mom was baptized in Whitehall, confirmed at Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Church in Eau Claire and remained a member there until her death. She, in turn, took us to her church, Concordia, to be baptized, and then to Sunday School and church, making sure we knew God, and the power of prayer, and that we were confirmed. She quoted the Golden Rule often, and did her best to follow it. Mom graduated from Eau Claire High School in 1938, something she was very proud of as not everyone was able to stay in school back then and actually graduate. She worked as the Modern Book Bindery, followed by employment at the Eau Claire Ordinance Plant and then as a tire builder at the U.S. Rubber Plant, quitting to be a stay-at-home mom until a few years after our dad died in 1971, when she returned to work. Mom and dad, William "Bill" Klemmer were married on May 26, 1945. Their daughter, Kathryn, was born a year and a half later, and twelve years later their son, Thomas, was born. She was an incredible mother to us. She saw what interested us and did her best to encourage us and support our interests. She like to read, loved movies, enjoyed growing flowers, and liked music, from hymns to polkas to music of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. She could sew, knit, crochet and embroider anything. She and dad enjoyed fishing and caught some large Northern out of Half Moon Lake back in the 1950s. She was a 'do it yourself" kind of person. If the room needed wallpapering or painting, she did it. If she needed a dress, she sewed it beautifully. She didn't believe in paying someone to do anything she could do herself. In the last few years, mom enjoyed knitting and made many mittens and scarves, which she donated to Concordia Lutheran Church and their Preschool. She wanted to make sure that all the children had warm mittens. She also liked word search puzzles, read the EC Leader-Telegram every day, and had fun scratching off lottery tickets. She enjoyed baking (and eating) cookies and couldn't survive without coffee. She loved to shovel snow, and was very disappointed when she could no longer do it. Although she did sneak out and shovel a little patch earlier this winter. She was "full-blooded Norwegian" and proud of it. She was also somewhat stubborn, which kept her going for 97 years. She wanted to do it herself, not rely on anyone else. She had a wonderful sense of humor which stayed with her till the end. Besides us – her daughter, Kathryn (Rolland) Freid and son, Thomas Klemmer, mom is survived by step-grandchildren, Alicia (Matt) Merwin and their sons, Holden, Dawson and Clifford, all of Fond du Lac, WI, and Calvin (Katie) Freid and their sons, Jack and Arlo, all of Renton, WA; sisters-in-law, Eillian Johnson of Coon Rapids, MN and Bernice Klemmer of Menomonee Falls, WI; several nieces and nephews and cousins; and we can't forget, grand-dog beagle, Norton. Mom was preceded in death by her husband, our dad, William "Bill" Klemmer in 1971; by her mother and dad; her brothers, Emil, Spencer, Myron and Milton; and her sisters, Elverna and Olive. We love you mom, and we miss you, but we know you are now free of pain and with God, in Heaven – a very good place to be. "See you later, alligator." We want to thank Mayo Hospice, Dove Healthcare-West, especially the wonderful workers in the Reflections Unit who took such good care of her, mom's Family Practice Dr., Robert Watson, for keeping her going for so long, and Pastors Fred Theiste and Aaron Hamilton, for mom's spiritual care. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., on Friday, April 7, 2017, at Concordia Lutheran Church, 3715 London Road in Eau Claire, with Pastor Aaron Hamilton officiating. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery in Eau Claire. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the services on Friday at the church.

Service Information

Visitation

Friday, April 7 2017 10:00 AM

Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Church 3715 London Road Eau Claire WI

Funeral Service

Friday, April 7 2017 11:00 AM

Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Church 3715 London Road Eau Claire WI