Thelma M. Williams, 93, of rural Hillsboro passed away Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at the Bethel Home in Viroqua.
The daughter of Albert and Bertha (Winchel) Myers, she was born May 17, 1917, in the town of Forest, Vernon County. She had two brothers, Elihue and Virgil. Her father, Albert, died in 1922, and her brother, Elihue, died in 1923.
Her mother, Bertha, continued to farm, milking in a log barn until 1928, when a new barn was built. They also boarded schoolteachers.
Thelma attended Salem school, with 60 children in attendance. She then walked 2 miles each way to Valley School for two years of high school and later graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1935.
Thelma was united in marriage to Ira A. Williams on Sept. 13, 1937, in Dubuque, Iowa. They rented a farm for two years, and then, in 1940, they bought 80 acres originally homesteaded by Thelma’s great-grandfather, Jesse Irwin, in Cheyenne Valley.
A son, Donnie was born in 1943. Electric lights came in 1948, followed by telephone and television.
They attended United Brethren Church at Burr and later First Congregational Church in Hillsboro. She was very active in the quilting program and with Women’s Fellowship.
Ira preceded her in death Sept. 9, 1984. Thelma remained living on the family farm, where her son and his wife continue to farm. She moved to the Bethel Home in fall of 2008.
Survivors include her son, Donnie (Carolyn) Williams of rural Hillsboro; two grandsons, David (Lisa) of rural Hillsboro and Dustin (Aimee) of South Wayne, Wis.; and six great-grandchildren, Owen, Iver, Trevor, Tanner, Brenna and Dalia Ann.
In addition to her husband, Ira, she was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Elihue and Virgil Myers.
Funeral services were Saturday, April 30, at First Congregational Church in Hillsboro, with Rev. Donald Ehler officiating. Burial was in the Forest-Burr Cemetery, rural Hillsboro. The Picha Funeral Home in Hillsboro assisted the family. For online information, go to www.pichafuneralhomes.com.
