Obituary of Verlina Herrboldt

Verlina Herrboldt, 95 years old of Menno, SD and resident of the Menno-Olivet Care Center, died Friday evening July 3, 2015. Funeral services will be 10:30 AM, Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at Salem Reformed Church, Menno, SD with Rev. Michael Hecht officiating. Burial will be in the Menno Cemetery. Visitations will begin at 5:00 PM, Tuesday, at the Aisenbrey-Opsahl-Kostel Memorial Chapel, Menno, SD with the family present at 7:00 PM. Visitations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Pallbearers will be Cory Herrboldt, Shannon Herrboldt, Micah Herrboldt and Jonathan Herrboldt and Ryan Watson and Adam Watson. Verlina Louisa Hehn was born August 11, 1919 on the farm in rural Menno, SD, oldest child of Magdalena (Nusz) Hehn and Richard Hehn. As the oldest, Verlina was responsible to help care for her two siblings as well as farm alongside her parents. She attended elementary school, initially at the Carter school, because she could get a ride with her cousins Erhardt and Arlene. Later, she attended Morning Star school. She had the opportunity to attend only one year of High School as she was needed on the farm. Verlina spoke often of her regret that she wasn't able to finish High School, yet as life would often disappoint, she made the world beyond the farm come to her through reading, it seemed, everything she could get her hands on. Her father hired a young man to help with the farm work and that circumstance developed into a relationship with this man, Clarence Herrboldt. Dating was for the two of them primarily going out with cousins and neighbor friends to movies and ice skating and the like. Verlina and Clarence were married August 18, 1940. Their first home as a married couple was living with Clarence's parents on their farm. Eventually they rented the Clifford Preszler farm east of Menno where their first child, a daughter, was born. Several years were spent on the Fred Hehn farm and then they bought the Solomon Hehn farm which became the place their 3 sons were born. The death of Clarence in 1976 with cancer brought about changes and still she remained on the farm with son, Richard, milking her cows and tending to the chickens. Eventually, Verlina took up residence in Menno in her mother, Magdalena's house, working part time in the Menno Olivet Care Center in Food Service. Later as she became the caregiver of her mother, she moved to the farm 7 miles East and 3 miles South of Menno where she had been born and raised. After her mother died, Verlina moved back to her mother's house in Menno. In addition to her love of reading, Verlina became involved in a Creative Writing group and helped to establish and volunteer at the Menno Historical Museum which she dearly enjoyed. Communicating with her cousins, traveling with two of them to the Holy Lands as well as attending many reunions, weddings and funerals was important to her. Verlina was the 'go to' person to identify family connection, maiden names, and lineage. Thankful for sharing life with her are her children, Kathryn Watson (Marvin, deceased), Marlin (Celeste), Richard (friend Barbara Healy) and Bruce (LaVon), eight grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, brother Elver Hehn, sister Priscilla (Hehn) Corth, great grandson Dean and son-in-law Marvin Watson.