Maxine Ohlendorf Balser
Maxine Elizabeth Ohlendorf Balser welcomed the angels on May 23, 2009. She was born on Feb. 18, 1926 to Max and Betty Conrads Ohlendorf in the home in which she grew up.
Maxine lived a long and healthy life as a wife, mother and homemaker. She was always smiling, never complaining. She helped and cared for so many people, often sacrificing her own wants and needs.
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She and her husband, Stanley, nurtured two daughters, Betty and Nancy; welcomed their spouses, Tim and Gary; and helped raise and encourage their children: Alison and Will and Drew, Laura and Callie.
Maxine was an ever-active member of the Trinity Church of Niederwald, from her own confirmation through years of teaching Sunday School and being a devoted member of the Womens’ Guild. She helped with the bake sales and the Thrift Shop; and took her turn arranging the flowers and cleaning the church.
When the Lockhart Savings & Loan Association opened, she served as the cashier, and as a teller. In later years, she was employed at the Lockhart Livestock Auction, where she enjoyed working and laughing with her friends.
Maxine volunteered as a Pink Lady in the snack bar at the Lockhart Hospital every Monday afternoon for several years and gave her time selflessly to the PTA while her daughters were in school. She also made sure her daughters had the things she didn’t have – dance lessons, piano lessons, band participation, twirling, and sports. She had a green thumb. Her greenhouse was overflowing with plants and flowers that she had rescued, propagated, and shared with others as she did in the spring and summer with fruits and vegetables that were plentiful. Maxine shelled peas, picked berries, peaches, and plums, and made pickles to give to friends who didn’t have a garden. Her coffee cake was legendary. Her family was the most important thing in her life.
In addition to her daughters and their families, Maxine cared for her own parents in their golden years, as well as some of her aunts. She always knew exactly who was in all the family pictures and how they were related and who their children were.
Maxine is survived by her husband of 62 years, Edward Stanley Balser; her daughter, Betty Clark, and husband, Tim, and their children, Alison and Will; her daughter, Nancy Hall, and husband Gary, and their children, Drew, Laura and Callie; her brother, Conrad Ohlendorf and his wife Gerry; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A visitation was held from 6 – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26,2009, at the Eeds Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, with Rev. Don Duvall officiating at the Eeds Funeral Home. Burial followed at Lockhart City Cemetery.
Serving as the pallbearers were: Carl Ohlendorf, Nile Riedel, George Ohlendorf, Charles Kraft, Curtis Ohlendorf and Roger Thormahlen. The honorary pallbearers were: David Ohlendorf, Tim Clark and Gary Hall.
The family suggests memorials be made to the Top Ten Scholarship Fund of Lockhart High School or charity of your choice.
All arrangements were with Eeds Funeral Home, 408 S. Main St., Lockhart, Texas 78644. (512) 398-2343.
