Velma Lou Schroeder

Velma Lou (Bass) Schroeder, age 96, passed away on October 1, 2017 at Westview Care Facility. Services will be held Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at 10 a.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, 214 South Derby Street. A visitation at Smith Mortuary 1415 N. Rock Road, will be held Tuesday, October 3, 2017 from 1 to 8 p.m. with the family present from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers please give memorials to Faith Lutheran Church children’s Ministries.

Her life was entirely about the children: her own 2, her 4 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, the kids at church, and any child she met along the way. She never met a child she didn’t want to hug.

Velma was born February 10, 1921 to Oania Lloyd Bass and Lou Vesta Hodge Bass in Piedmont, OK. She was the youngest of 5 children at the time until her mother passed away when she was 5. Then 4 more children were born into her father’s second family.

She left home at the age of 14 and worked for local families taking care of their children, sewing, helping with milking, cooking and cleaning homes so she could graduate from high school.

She was baptized in February of 1938 and finished high school in Piedmont, Oklahoma in 1938.

She married Frank C. Schroeder on November 12, 1941 in Okarche, Oklahoma and was confirmed in the Lutheran Church on May 11, 1942. To this marriage a daughter, Carol, was born on August 20, 1942 and a son, Tom on September 5, 1944.

Besides being a mother – which was her most cherished job – she was one of the earliest members of Faith Lutheran Church in Derby (joining in 1958) and her life beyond her family was centered around children and her church service. She was a member of the Lutheran’s Women’s Missionary League, Lutherans Chaplin’s Auxiliary, Faith’s Faithful, Rebecca and Ruth Circle, and helped with Sunday School for many years. And most recently, she loved the Valentine’s Supper and greeting people at the Chicken Noodle Supper as the church’s oldest member.

In addition to all of her responsibilities, she also worked many years in retail sales at Hinkles in Park Lane, TG&Y in Derby, JCPenney and Dillards.

She was preceded in death by her husband Frank C. Schroeder, her parents, several of her siblings, and numerous close friends. Her friendships a vital part of her life.

She is survived by daughter Carol Burgess of Stapleton, NE and son Tom F. Schroeder and Vivian of Chicago. Grandson Bradley G. Burgess and Eileen of Omaha. Granddaughter Nicole (Burgess) Badgley and Clifford of Oconto, NE. Granddaughter Amy (Schroeder) Cuevas and Martin of Chicago, IL. Granddaughter Robyn (Schroeder) Timmerman and Jeremy of Sandwich, IL. Great-Grandsons Bryan Burgess and Carson Badgley, and Great-granddaughters Callyn Burgess, Emma Badgley, Laney Badgley, Anna Timmerman, Sara Timmerman, Lydia Cuevas, and Isabel Cuevas. Brother Orville Bass, and sister Bobbi Dodgen of Oklahoma.