Emily Millicent Ehler

Emily Millicent (Duffield) Ehler passed from this world into God’s Eternal Kingdom Sept. 30, 2016. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4 at the Kellogg United Methodist Church. The family will greet friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3 at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton. Memorials to the Kellogg United Methodist Church, Mercy Hospice or the East Jasper Christian Food Pantry may be left at the funeral home or the church the day of the service.

Emily, the eldest daughter of Gordon Bennett and Vera Millicent (Redshaw)Duffield, was born Dec. 18, 1933, at Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines. At that time her parents lived in an apartment on 16th Street but soon moved to a home they were building at 3815 E. Sheridan. This land had been given to them by Gordon’s parents as a wedding gift.

Emily grew up in the area of Des Moines that was known as Four Mile Community until the family moved to an acreage east of Altoona. She began school at what was then Meredith, a two room school for kindergarten and first graders. Meredith later became McKee when the Meredith family gave the school system land to build a junior high school. On Emily’s first day of first grade she went to Meredith only to be told she should have gone to Douglas. The parents had not been told of this change. She and others were put on a bus and sent off to Douglas, a mile away from where they lived. It’s not known how the children got home from school that day.

After attending Douglas for six years, except for a winter when the family moved to an apartment on Dean Avenue, she attended Willard. Emily then went on to Woodrow Wilson Junior High and one semester at East High.

In 1947, a second daughter, Laura Louise, joined the Duffield family and in 1949, Gordon and Vera bought the acreage in Altoona in partnership with Vera’s brother, Buck. Emily began attending Altoona High School graduating as valedictorian in 1952. During these childhood years, Emily enjoyed camping trips with her family, swimming at the city pools, vacation bible school at Easter Heights Evangelical United Brethren Church, sack lunches with friends at Grandview Park, visits to Kobville in the fall to gather nuts and campfire meals with family friends. Sunday afternoons usually found Vera and Gordon making the best ever ice cream, with friends there to enjoy the treat.

After high school graduation Emily went on to Westmar College in LeMars, receiving a two year teacher certificate. She transferred from Westmar to Drake University and took several classes there. She then received a position as the first grade teacher in Kellogg.

While teaching in Kellogg, she took several high school girls to a skating party in Newton one night. It was there, in the spring of 1956, she met the love of her life, Jerry Ehler.

On June 26, 1957, at Easton Heights EUB church in Des Moines, Jerry and Emily were married. Their honeymoon took them to many sites in the Northwest and West, such as the Badlands of SouthDakota, Yellowstone National Park, Salt Lake City, Utah and the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

Then it was home to the Ehler farm north of Kellogg. Jerry’s grandfather, Jurgen had homesteaded there in 1883.

On June 13, 1959, their first daughter, Kathleen Susan was born. Linda Ann was born April 23, 1961, and on Dec. 30, 1963, Daniel Arnold was born. All of the children were born at Grinnell General Hospital.

As the children grew and kept Emily busy with their activities, she also tended a large garden, canning and freezing most of the produce. During those years neighbors helped neighbors with hay bailing and whatever task needed assistance so there was always morning and afternoon coffee and the large noon meal to cook. In later years, Emily could be found discing or harrowing a field and in the summer and in the fall hauling in oats, corn or beans to elevate in the bins.

Emily also kept busy being a PTA homeroom mother, Camp Fire Girls leader, United Methodist Women President, in additional to many church committees, serving as Kellogg Community Bible School Director for 20 years, Kellogg Community Chest President and Mariposa Township Clerk for 32 years.

For many years, the family enjoyed fishing trips to Pine Lane Resort near Bemidji, Minn. Later Jerry and Emily purchased a cabin on Splithand Lake near Grand Rapids, Minn. Family and friends spent many enjoyable days there with Jerry as their fishing guide and Emily the chief cook. Evening and rainy days were usually spent playing cards with Pitch being the favorite game.

Emily’s favorite things were family gatherings, traveling, genealogy (having compiled The Duffield Family History with Craig Smith), card games with friends, crocheting, and knitting. She has traveled to 47 states and countries including Alaska, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Nova Scotia and Italy. Over the years, Emily has been a member of the Kellogg United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, Rainbow Girls, Eastern Star, Barrett Homemakers Club, and Daughters of the American Revolution.

Emily’s passing was preceded by her parents, Gordon and Vera. Left to cherish her memory are her husband, Jerry; children, Kathy Ehler of Kellogg, Linda (Dean) Porter of Lenexa, Kan., and Dan (Tina) Ehler of Newton; her grandchildren, Madison Porter, Victoria (Russell) Endriss, Chris Sharp, Anthony (Niki) Sharp, Jeremy Ehler-Lange; great-grandchildren, Rinoa, Christian and Caroline; sister, Laura (Bob) Biegger of Altoona, many cousins, nieces, and nephews.