Elsie (Weidner) Wiedenmeyer

Elsie Hilda (Weidner) Wiedenmeyer passed away at her home in Hazen, ND on March 4, 2023.  Services will be held March 11, 2023 at 10:30 AM CT at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Beulah with Pastor Kent Sperry officiating.  Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at Golgotha Lutheran Cemetery, Golden Valley, ND.

Elsie was born to Andrew and Elizabeth (Ziegler) Weidner on April 30, 1934 north of Dodge, ND.  She told stories about growing up during WW II; how food and gasoline were rationed and she could only buy a candy bar with a ration coupon.  She graduated from Dodge High School in 1951.  While in High School, she and her sister Eleanor stayed in the basement of their aunt’s house in Dodge because of the terrible ND winters and snowy roads.  She also played basketball on the Dodge High School team with Eleanor.  In one game, Elsie had her nose broken and after one game, the girls had to push the bus out of a snowbank during a storm.  After HS graduation, she got her teaching certificate from Dickinson State University and while attending DSU, she worked part time at the Dickinson Creamery as a bookkeeper.  She started her teaching career in various rural, one room schoolhouses in the area.

During the 1962-1963 school year she taught 1st grade in Wibaux, MT with a class of 30 students which included her daughter Sandy.  She started teaching at Golden Valley Elementary School in 1964 and “retired” in 1971.  She taught various classes from Kindergarten through 8th Grade at different times in her career while there. After “retirement” she became a substitute teacher in elementary and high schools in all of the towns from Halliday to Beulah.  During the 1980’s she took correspondence courses and went to summer school to obtain her Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Dickinson State University.

She married Jacob (Jake) Lindeman, Jr. on August 28, 1955 in Halliday, ND.  They started a farm and ranch operation by purchasing the Lindeman Family Farm and Ranch north of Dodge, which she passed on to her son, Allen.  As a child, Jake moved with his family to the farm next to where Elsie was growing up.  Her father teased her that someday she would marry Jake.  Jake passed away March 22, 1988 at the age of 54.  Elsie then moved to Dickinson and was hired by Walmart to stock the store before it opened for business.  She also worked in the DSU bookstore.

On September 14, 1991 she married Herbert Wiedenmeyer in Hazen, ND.  She lived in Hazen until Herb passed away on May 19, 2002.  She then moved to a condo in Beulah, which she and Herb had purchased shortly before his death.  In March of 2022 she moved to Senior Suites in Hazen.

During her marriage to Jake, she worked hard alongside him picking rocks off the fields, driving tractor, baling hay, stacking hay bales, and herding cattle to make their farm and ranch operation successful.  During her marriage to Herb, they enjoyed traveling extensively throughout the United States.  They also traveled on many trips in their motor home.  They belonged to the ND Good Sam Club and camped with them throughout ND.  She had many fond memories of camping with family and their Good Sam Friends.

Her hobbies included crocheting, sewing, crossword puzzles, reading, watching Jeopardy and playing cards.  She was an amazing artist with a crochet needle.  She could look at pictures of something to crochet and make the items without reading the directions.  She crocheted many doilies for family members and friends.  She crocheted elaborate Barbie doll wedding dresses, which she gave to the girls in her family.  When she was 40, she taught herself to sew and immediately started making pant suits, jackets and bridesmaid dresses for her daughters.  She made very beautiful, beaded necklaces and she was an excellent cook; especially when it came to cooking her handed down, heritage German recipes.  Her greatest joy in life was playing cards with her family when they were all gathered together.

She was a 4-H leader in the West River 4-H Club the entire time her three children were in 4-H.  While in Beulah she was a Board Member of The Women’s Action and Resource Center (WARC).  She also belonged to the Retired Teachers Group, Red Hat Society and Retired Women’s Monthly Birthday Club.  She enjoyed going on all the outings with these groups of women.

While married to Jake, they were members of Golgotha Lutheran Church in Golden Valley.  There she served for many years as a Sunday School and VBS teacher.  While married to Herb, they were members of Peace Lutheran Church in Hazen.  At the time of her death, she was a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Beulah.  There she served by being the Thrivent Coordinator, sewing quilts and serving funeral lunches.

She is survived by her three children:  Daughter Sandra Cole and her husband Robert of Windsor, CO, Son Allen Lindeman and his wife Kris of Dodge, ND, and Daughter Sharon Boe and her husband Ken of Golden Valley, ND.  She is also survived by her Stepson Mike Wiedenmeyer and his wife Faye of Moorhead, MN, Stepdaughter Cheryl Axtman and her husband Curt of Garrison, ND, and Stepdaughter-in-Law Sandy Wiedenmeyer of Bismarck.

She is also survived by 16 Grandchildren, six Step Grandchildren, five Great Grandchildren, nine Step Great Grandchildren and a great number of nieces, nephews, and cousins.  Stepson Wes would tease her that everyone she knew was either a cousin or a former student.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husbands Jake Lindeman and Herb Wiedenmeyer, Sister Eleanor (Rudy) Lindemann, Brother Ray Weidner, Stepson Wesley Wiedenmeyer and Grandson Matt Richau.

Arrangements are conducted by Barbot Funeral Home, Beulah and Hazen.

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