Tomah Journal - Obituaries

Evelyn M. Geier, Theodore “Ted” Maas

Evelyn M. Geier

Evelyn M. Geier, age 88, of La Crosse, WI, and formerly of Cashton, passed away on Friday, February 8, 2008, at Bethany St. Joseph Care Center.

Evelyn was born on a farm near Cashton on July 10, 1919, the first child of Anton and Ottilia (Erpenbach) Geier. She attended parochial grade school at St. Peter and Paul’s Parish, Pine Hollow. Following the death of her father in 1927, her mother and children moved into Cashton, where Evelyn completed her elementary education. She attended Cashton High School, but left in the middle of her junior year in order to work and help out her widowed mother during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In 1937, she went to work in Madison as a housekeeper and a waitress. In 1941, she moved to Milwaukee, where she worked at various jobs until she suffered a severe automobile accident in 1948, which necessitated a change in occupations. During 1949-1950, she took accounting courses at the technical school in La Crosse. In 1956, she began work as an accountant and office manager in the national office of the American Society for Quality Control, which is located in Milwaukee. She retired in 1984 and moved to La Crosse.

Evelyn married Paul Osuski of Cashton on Aug. 19, 1989, sometime after the death of Paul’s first wife, Delores (Flock) Osuski. Paul died in 1993.

Evelyn loved to play cards, especially 500, cribbage and pinochle and to participate in bingo games. She also liked to try her hand at word puzzles and jigsaw puzzles. Although she had no children of her own, she thoroughly enjoyed playing with the children of others.

Evelyn is survived by the children of Paul and Delores Osuski and their families, Richard (Joyce) Osuski of Cashton, Cheryl (Darrel) Kammel of West Salem, Donald (Linda) Osuski of Bangor and Sue Herricks of La Crosse. She is also survived by her sister, Elvera “Tootie Geier” Camp of La Crosse; her nieces and their families, Ann (Nick) Beliaeff of San Diego, CA, and Mary (Ernie) Lastra of Morgan Hill, CA; and her nephew and his family, William (Marsha) Camp of Glendale, MO.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Paul Osuski; two brothers, LeRoy and Norbert Geier; her brother-in-law, Thomas Camp, and many aunts, uncle and cousins.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 11 a.m. at the Mary Mother of the Church in La Crosse. Burial will take place in the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Cashton. Family and friends are invited for visitation on Wednesday from 10 a.m. until the time of service at the church. The Torkelson Funeral Home of Cashton is assisting the family with arrangements.

Online condolences are available at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.

Theodore “Ted” Maas

Funeral services for Theodore “Ted” Maas, age 79, of Brownwood, will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, 2008, at Rocky Creek Baptist Church with Rev. Rick Justice and Rev. Mack McCarthick officiating. The family will receive friends Sunday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Netherton Funeral Home. Mr. Maas passed away Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008, at Brownwood Regional Medical Center in Brownwood, TX.

Ted was born Sept. 15, 1928, in Warrens, WI, to Theodore W. and Blanch Maas. He married Gwen A. Hoffman on Sept. 2, 1950, in Warrens, WI.

Ted surrendered his life to the ministry of God’s word in 1965 and attended the Southwestern Southern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. His first ministry was in Tishomingo, OK, where he built a new church called Bullard Chapel Baptist Church and served as Baptist Student Union Director of Murray State College. A church in trouble called Ted to the far north, Duluth, MN, where he accepted the challenge to build and strengthen the struggling church. Not long after, the church was filled with people who loved God and who bonded together as a family. Help was needed in La Crosse, WI, where a little community church was near extinction. Ted moved his family once again to follow the leadership of the Lord and embrace the new challenge. Everywhere Ted worked in the ministry, the glow of God’s love would show through the whole community. When his work was done and the church was strong, Ted would tirelessly accept a new work for the Lord. Stevens Point, WI, was his next mission, then back south to Farmington, NM. Finally, he finished his career in the ministry at Minerith & Myer Christian Counseling Clinic in Richardson, TX, as a chaplain.

Survivors include his wife, Gwen Maas of Brownwood; children Sharyl McCarthick of Lovington, NM; Scott Maas of West Salem, WI, Sandra von Riedle of Knife River, MN; sons Richard Maas of Clemmons, NC, and Gary Maas of Brownwood; brothers Douglas Maas of Tomah, WI, and Jack Maas of Oconto, WI; 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, all of whom are saved by the Blood of Christ and are looking forward to joining Ted in Eternal Life with Jesus.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Theodore W. and Blanch Maas, and a sister, Shirley.