Emma Lou Stroud

Memorial services for EMMA LOU STROUD, 90, will be held at 10am Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at the Colyer Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Rick Carroll officiating. Burial will take place will follow in the Hillcrest Cemetery in Lingle, Wyoming. Emma Lou died January 21, 2015 at the Goshen Care Center and cremation has taken place. Memorials may be made to the South Torrington Children’s Park. Arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and friends may send condolences to the family at www.colyerfuneralhome.com. Emma Lou was born March 25, 1924 in Torrington, Wyoming the daughter of Robert and Georgina Prideaux (Lawrence) Koehler. She was raised on her parents homestead in Pleasant Valley which is located south and east of Torrington. The homestead is currently owned by Hal Brethour. The dirt fill around Eastern Wyoming College’s Lancer Hall came from that homestead. She attended school in Torrington. The story goes that Emma Lou wanted to go to school so bad that her mother said "OK". She was five at the time. She had two older sisters, Maxine and Betty. They watched over getting her back and forth to school on the bus. Roger, her brother came along about nine years later. The neighbors in Pleasant Valley were the Quades, Curtis, Porters, Eddingtons among others. Mom talked about picnics with all the neighbors at the lake in Pleasant Valley. She met Earl Stroud from Lingle while attending Torrington High School. They went together for a couple of years and decided to elope with Rose Schindledecker and Coonie Wunder. So off the two couples went to get married. The girls had snuck their Sunday School clothes out and changed into them in the back seat of the car. They found the Justice of Peace and he told them - "Go home and grow up." Earl gave Mom and engagement ring later on. She was teased in school about being the first one in the class to become engaged. Mom graduated in 1941 from Torrington High School. She and Earl were married June 13, 1942 in Torrington at the Presbyterian Church. Fifty years later I decided to get a copy of their marriage license and have it framed. When I was looking at the license later I noticed tha Mom’s signature wasn’t hers. When I asked her about it she told me that Grandma Koehler had signed it for her because she was getting her hair fixed. So does that mean that Mom and Dad weren’t legally married? March 4, 1943 Marcia Anne was born. She had lots of long black hair and as soon as we got home from the hospital Mom cut bangs for Marcia. Mom worked at the newspaper office after high school. Dad worked at a filling station and later worked at Safeway. They purchased their first grocery store in South Torrington in !946. It was very small . They would purchase 1/4 case of canned goods to stock the store. Kelly’s would sell them the meat they had left over Saturday night since Kelly’s weren’t open on Sunday. Around 1957 they purchased their second store, located two blocks away for the first one. This is now a fire works stand and an apartment. In 192 they built a much larger store which is presently a church. It was catty-corner across the street from the second store. In 1969 they sold that store and ventured to Douglas, Wyoming and built their fourth store. Since they were the newcomers to Douglas it was ver hade to get everything going-electricity, water, sewer and natural gas. First it was the electricity-Mom goes to the electric company and tells them they need electricity-the next week no electricity-goes back and asks where the electricity is -well , they said "you need a pole". Okay next week a pole is up- again no electricity-back to the electric company-same answer only now it’s a pig-tail needed on the pole. The next week they had the pig-tail-still no electricity yet. Lo and behold a deposit was needed-next week there was finally electricity but we laughed and said we could only get a bucket of electricity a week. There was never enough to try out the equipment without a problem. Finally the electric company decided we were a reality and the store was then opened in 1971. It was hard going for a while without much local business. Phillips Petroleum came to town about the same time and as they were also newcomers, they couldn’t get their paychecks cashed at the local banks. The Phillips people did not believe in banks, so an agreement between Phillips people and Mom and Dad was reached-they could cash their paychecks and Phillips people would buy their groceries at Stroud’s Grocery. So every two weeks Mom would go to the band and bring back $100,000 to cash checks. This all happened at the time of the "Boom" for Douglas and for Mom and Dad. Circa 1977 Douglas was settling back into a sort of normalcy and they decided to sell and retire. Well retirement didn’t last long as Associated Grocers of Nebraska talked them into buying Town and Country Market in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. This store was the largest store for AG of Nebraska and they didn’t want to lose its buyer. Thus, Mom and Dad bought it, cleaned it up, repaired or replaced broken equipment. The agreement was that AG was to find another buyer within six months. At the end of six months no buyer was in the works and Mom and Dad threatened to just close its doors. Along came Bruce Bailey and with the backing of Mom and Dad they were once again ready for retirement- "But no more grocery stores." They were then able to do some traveling-Hawaii, Florida, Arizona, California and Alaska. They spent much more time with their great grand children finally. The big deal when the grand children came along Mom and Dad decided to close the store for Christmas. That was a real big time in my life to see my parents enjoying their grandchildren, but retirements was getting to know their great grandchildren- spending time with them, teaching them how to play Black Jack, and letting Russell drive them all over Wyoming, Nebraska, and South Dakota. He was only fourteen at the time. Each and every grandchild and great grandchild (9) got to know Mom and Dad and spend time with them. Mom only got to be around one great-great grandchild before being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about 2008. This was a very sad time in all our lives. Mom loved each and every one of us unconditionally, through thick and thin, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health. She was always there for all of us. She was the best listener, knew when to give hugs, kisses or candy to make us feel better. She was the best and we will all miss her. She has left a big hole in our lives. We do know she will be in heaven watching over us and smiling at us and she will be at peace, pain free and our mother grandmother, great grandmother, and great-great grandmother will always be with us in our hearts. In all her year she devoted herself to family first and work second. She was able to find time to spend with and make lasting friends. The only thing is she has outlasted almost all her friends. She belonged to Rebekah’s while here in Torrington and was Past Noble Grand. After moving to Douglas she no longer could find the time to devote to Rebekahs. Along with having time for family, she also liked to crochet, knit counted cross-stitch, and ceramics. She always made "Big" receiving blankets and crocheted blankets for each and every great grandchild, and one great-great grandchild when they were born. She was not able to make them after the first great-great grandchild. She made counted cross-stitch Christmas stockings for all of us before then. It was sad to see the day when she could no longer do the loving, caring things for all of us. Mom and Dad loved Christmas. When the time came that it was easier for me to have Christmas, they would backup the pickup to the fromt door, open the gate and everyone that was there already would go out to help unload a whole camper-topped pickup full of toys, packages, stockings full of goodies, homemade candy-sour cream fudge, divinity, pies (pecan, sour cream raisin, strawberry-rhubarb, and any other kind that Mom overheard someone liked. Mom and Dad always planned something special for us older kids-hiding money in the most unlikely places in our stockings. Maybe a walnut broken in half, stuffed with a bill and glued back together. Maybe it would be hidden in a wooden doll with arms and legs stuffed with M&M’s and yarn hair. Maybe it would be hidden in a stuffed toy or down the center of a roll of Lifesavers. Their joy in Christmas was watching everyone’s delight as they unwrapped toys, clothes, pictures, sometimes it might be a lamp but always the delight they got when we all searched for the money. It wasn’t the amount of money but the amount of fun we had searching. Sometime it might even be a roll or special edition coins wrapped and hidden. One time we got silver ingots. After Dad passed away March 22, 2008, and Mom was no longer able to do some of these things, we would sit at her dining room table and do Christmas cards, she would compose a letter and I’d get it typed and copied to send with the cards. We would also work together hiding money in the stockings. When Mom could no longer do these things, I have tried to keep their tradition going for her, but as I watched the light slowly go out of her eyes, no longer being able to focus on a project, no longer able to play cards or dominos, or to complete a sentence or no longer able to enjoy her life, I knew it was time for me to let her go to find peace in a pain-free place where the sun shines all the time, everyone is happy and love is all around her. I’ll know she’s at peace at last. I will miss you, Mom. I truly believe that when Mom told me she was ready to go shortly after Dad’s death that having a new great-great grandchild coming along gave her something to look forward to, but now I believe she wants to keep going until the great grandkids are settled and happy in their lives. Emma Lou is survived by her daughter Marcia Ann and spouse George Nash of Torrington; grandchildren Ronda (Ted) Stienmetz of Bar Nunn/Casper, Larry (Jamie) Schaneman of Torrington; sister Betty Pirtle; brother Roger and spouse Janet of California; sister-in-law Arlene Satchell of Nebraska; great grandchildren Meralyn (Jon) Larson, Darbi Beck, Russell (Kendra) Stienmetz, Emma Lee Stienmetz, Lacy (Tony) Biberos, and Kohl Schaneman; great-great grandchildren Matty, Devlin, Brynn, Cooper, James, Julia, Talon, Jackson, and Paxton; and step-grandchildren Lisa (Perry) Tuttle, son RJ and Megan Mitchell, daughter Natawsha and son Nikoli. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; sister Maxine and her husband Ott; brother-in-law Arlin Pirtle; nieces Beverly Pirtle and Lynnette Powell; and nephews Bob and Tom Paxton.

Emma Lou Stroud

March 25, 1924 - January 21, 2015