On May 6, 2011, surrounded by family at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hillsboro, Anna Breidenstein, 100, of Ontario went to be with the Lord whom she served and to claim the promise of John 14:1-3.
Anna was born Oct. 26, 1910, near Amberg, Marinette County, Wis. She was the fourth of 13 children born to Will and Rettie DeLine Collins. At age 10, she and the family moved to a farm in Oconto County where she finished school and worked side by side with the rest of the family as they sought to eke out a hard-scrabble existence.
On April 25, 1931, she was married to Bernard Breidenstein, a widower with three small children, and in doing so, she became a second mother. Arlene, 8; Blaine, 6; and Burdette, 4, were soon joined by nine more children.
Anna was a faithful member of the Mount Pisgah Wesleyan Church for well nigh 80 years. She taught Sunday school and was, along with a dedicated group of ladies, the face of the mission’s program, local and international.
Even as she lost her eyesight and her general health began to decline, church was still a very high priority, and she seldom missed a service. For many years, she was a member of the Mount Pisgah Homemakers Club, and her kitchen was often redolent of bread, cakes, pies, chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls.
Anna is survived by two daughters, Lucille of La Crosse and Linda (Harry Fiske) of Valley; four sons, William (Marla) of Janesville and Alton, Bob and Merril, all of Ontario; beloved daughters-in-law, Anna Marie Breidenstein of Maplewood, Minn., Shirley Breidenstein of Oklahoma City, Okla., and Ruth Breidenstein of Delavan, Wis.; three sisters, Jean Brown, Dorothy Wirth and Vivian Hickey, and one brother, Lawrence, all of Oregon, Wis.; 24 grandchildren; and numerous great- and great-great-grandchildren.
Anna was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; two daughters, Clara and Arlene (Duane Obert); four sons, Blaine, Burdette, Beauford and Donald (Marlene); two brothers, Richard and Gerald; six sisters, Iva, Erma, Edna, Cleo, Mildred and Faye; and one grandson, David Obert.
She lived a long life and lived it very well. The people who received cards and letters from her are legion. She sent thousands of them over the years to family, friends, shut-ins, people in nursing homes and hospitals, soldiers and missionaries. She remembered them all with kind words and a prayer, or perhaps a few words from an old prayer hymn sum it up: “Lord let me live from day to day, in such a self-forgetful way, that even when I kneel to pray, my prayer shall be for others. Others Lord, yes, others, let this my motto be. Lord, let me live for others, that I might live like thee.”
For more than 80 years, she lived in the Cass Valley farmhome, where she loved and cared for her family. In grandma’s kitchen, the tales of grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s adventures often brought a smile to her face. In addition to her own children, she had a wide circle of children around the world whom she supported with prayer and finances.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Mount Pisgah Wesleyan Church, Ontario. Burial will follow in the Burr Ridge Cemetery. Relatives and friends may call from 10 a.m. to time of service Monday at the church. The Torkelson Funeral Home in Ontario will assist the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be offered at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.
