Mildred I. Ax

GARNER – Mildred I. Ax, 97, of Garner died Wednesday (July 25, 2007) at the Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt.

Funeral services will be held 10 A.M., Monday at Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Garner with Pastor Donna Buckman officiating. Burial will be in Concord Township Cemetery, Garner.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 P.M., Sunday at the Cataldo Funeral Chapel in Garner and will continue one hour prior to services at the church.

Mildred Irene Ax, the daughter of William John and Bess (Hoyt) Hampel, was born August 29, 1909 on a farm near Blairstown in Benton County, Iowa. She moved with her family to South Dakota and at the age of six returned with them to Iowa settling in Hancock County. She attended rural schools and graduated from Garner High School in 1927 with a Normal Training Teaching Certificate. Mildred taught in the rural schools of Hancock County for five years. During her summer break she continued her education at Iowa State University in Ames. On October 16, 1931 she was married to Richard T. Ax at her parent’s farm near Garner. They farmed in the Garner and Klemme area until moving to a farm south of Ventura in March of 1942. In 1954, they moved into Ventura. After retirement, they traveled all over the U.S. and to many foreign countries. In 2003, she moved to Concord Care Center in Garner. She enjoyed her family, nature and gardening. Her love of nature led her to become a Master Gardener and master floral judge, with many years of experience judging horticulture at the Iowa State Fair and numerous county fairs.

Mildred was a member of Zion Evangelical and Zion Women’s Fellowship. She belonged to the Lake View Study Club, Ventura Garden Club and was a charter member of the Federated Garden Club in Ventura. 4-H was an important part of Mildred’s life from the time she was a teenager. She was a charter member of the first girls’ 4-H Club in Ell Township and served as a state 4-H officer in 1927. As an adult, she was a 4-H leader and had served as a member of the Hancock and Cerro Gordo County 4-H boards. In 2002, she became the first member from Hancock County to be selected for the new Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame.

Mildred is survived by her three children, Eunice Kinsella of Garner, Richard (Yesenia) Ax of Ventura and Susan (James Van Wert) Ax of Hayward, CA; three grandchildren, Kathryn Kinsella, Kirk Kinsella and Annalisa Poriel; four great grandchildren, Tanner Kinsella, Caleb Brown, Tori Kinsella and Ethan Brown; one great-great grandchild, Raygan Kinsella; two sisters, Winifred Pritchard of Osage and Shirley Heuberger of Reno, NV; as well as many nieces and nephews who have always been very special to their “Aunt Mid”.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, February of 1986; her parents; son-in-law, Mike Kinsella; grandchildren, Karen Kinsella and Thomas Kinsella; an infant brother, Earl; sisters, Beverly Hyde and Dorothy Foster; and brothers, Earl and Arnold Hampel.