Mildred Hadenfeldt

Mildred V. Hadenfeldt, age 91, of Alta, Iowa died Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at her home in Alta. Funeral services will take place Thursday, June 24, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. at Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake. Burial will be at the Schaller Cemetery in Schaller, Iowa. Visitation will take place Wednesday, June 23, 2021 from 5-7:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. Memorials may be made in Mildred’s name to the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Foundation. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements. Mildred V. Hadenfeldt, age 91, of Alta, Iowa died Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at her home in Alta. Mildred Verna Hadenfeldt was born March 20, 1930, in Schaller, Iowa the daughter of George and Adelaide (Reineking) Clausen. Mildred was born at their rural farm home during the depression years when the Stock Market crashed October 1929 and people lost almost all their money and everyone was poor. Her parents instilled in their children to save and hard-working methods. Mildred’s dad would tell the story that he made boys out of his two girls since Robert was younger. Mildred loved being a “Tom Boy”, loved farm life, and had many pets; dogs & cats. When she was 2 or 3 years old, the family had a goose that didn’t like Mildred very much and chased her around the farm. When she was 5 years old, she claimed a Hereford calf as her own and broke it to lead. The family had milk cows and she begged to learn how to milk; they had some sheep and several lambs that were bottle & nipple milk fed. To teach Mildred how to milk, her mother would put water in a bottle and standing on a chair at the sink Mildred learned how to milk. After a few years, Mildred milked real cows until she was 25 or older. Mildred’s family did not get electricity on their farm until 1946 after World War II. Mildred joined boy’s 4-H when she was 10 years old. Mildred had four Grand Champion 4-H steers, two Reserve Grand Champions and several breed champions at the Sac County Fair. Mildred and her siblings showed at Omaha and the Sioux City Interstate Baby Beef Show quite a few years. In 1948, Mildred showed one of her 4-H steers at the International Livestock Show in Chicago. Mildred showed her last 4-H steer, a Hereford she named “Jewel”, at the Great Western Livestock Show in Los Angeles, California; “Jewel” was selected as the Grand Champion over all 4-H and then Reserve Grand Champion overall in the Open Class. Mildred graduated from Country School where her dad was the School Director. Mildred recalled that her dad had many jobs as School Director which included using horses to upright the outhouses after some mischievous persons (not Mildred) pushed them over one Halloween. In 1952, a Rural Young Peoples Group (RYP) was organized by the County Extension Director where Mildred held offices as Recorder, Secretary and President. Mildred was baptized and a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Schaller and was installed as a Deacon in 1987; in 1956 she became a member of Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake where she served as a Deacon for two years and was later ordained to the office as Elder. In May 1953, Mildred met her future husband, Bob L. Hadenfeldt; they enjoyed going to dances at the Cobblestone and the movies. Mildred and Bob were married on September 25, 1955, at the First Presbyterian Church in Schaller by the Rev. G.G. Nusbaum. They honeymooned in the South Dakota Black Hills and came home to farm near Albert City where they loved their farm life crop farming, feeding out fat cattle and farrowing lots of baby pigs & feeding them out to market. In the fall of 1956, Mildred spotted a 300 lb. hereford calf which cost about $50.00; she named him “Teddy”, fed & groomed him and ended up showing him in the Open-Class at the National Western Livestock Show in Denver, Colorado where he won Champion Hereford and later that day won Grand Champion overall beating out over 434 show steers. Mildred’s dear Bob passed away from cancer in 1997. They never had any children. Following the death of her sister, Lois (Clausen) Cole, Mildred established the “Lois R. and Ralph E. Cole Museum” located just south of Storm Lake on Hwy. 110 where she was the curator of many antiques including cars, tractors, furnishings, photographs, and other collectibles located in the five buildings on the property. Mildred commended her contractor, Mark Falck, for all his hard work in making her dream possible. Preceding Mildred in death were her husband, Bob L. Hadenfeldt; her parents, George and Adelaide Clausen; brother, Robert Clausen; sister, Lois Cole; and her brother-in-law, Ralph Cole. Mildred is survived by two (2) nephews, Wayne R. Clausen and Dale R. Clausen, both of Minnesota; cousins, Shirley Belstene of Arthur, Iowa; Joan Schirrmacher of Ida Grove, Iowa; and dear friends, Kyle Cejka, Dan & Linda Connell, Joyce Robbins, Dennis Robbins, Missy Marple, Tom Snyder, Mark Falck and many, many others.

Mildred Hadenfeldt

March 20, 1930 - June 15, 2021