Edith Happs

Visitation: Monday, July 11, 2005 from 3 until 7 at the funeral home.

Funeral Service: 10:00 A.M. Tuesday, July 12, 2005 at the Blanche Beck Memorial Chapel in Pioneer Manor in Gillette

Interment: 2:00 p.m. at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, S.D.

Mrs. Happs, age 73, died Friday, July 8, 2005 at Campbell County Memorial Hospital of natural causes.

Edith Mae Happs was born on January 3, 1932 in Keokuk, Iowa the daughter of Fred and Pearl (Cooper) Eichelberger. As a young child she moved onto a farm in Missouri near Wayland, Missouri. She would gather eggs, get the kindle and firewood, wash the dishes, feed the chickens, carry in the water, work in the garden, and do other farms work. All of these were chores she did as a child and as she grew older, she canned food, washed clothes on the washboard and milked the cows which taught her strong work ethic that she passed onto her own children. As a child, Edith loved to play baseball, dominos, checkers, Chinese checkers, and hide the thimble. As a teenager, Edith enjoyed being a member of the 4-H Club, going to town with her parents, going to free movies, and visiting her Aunt Bertha and Uncle Charlie. She graduated from high school on May 13, 1949. Upon her schooling at the age of seventeen, Edith got her first job as a waitress earning 25 cents an hour. In 1950, while trying to roller skate one night, Edith fell. She was picked up off the floor by a young man. This young man was her future husband, Roy Joseph Happs Jr. They were married on September 16, 1950 in Keokuk, Iowa. While Roy was in the Army at Ft. Riley, Kansas Edith worked at the Spic & Span Cafe in Junction City, Kansas. Edith attended the First Baptist Church in Keokuk where she also taught kindergarten for seven years. Edith stayed home and raised her family from 1952 until 1967 when she went to work at Swifts.

Edith and Roy liked to take vacations with their children all through the United States and Canada and went on several weekend camping trips. The family belonged to the Ill-Ia-Mo Roamers camping club. In January 1976, Roy and Edith moved their family to Gillette, Wyoming. Edith worked at Pioneer Manor Nursing Home as a certified nurses aide until she retired in 1983. She babysat until 1998. Edith also became a Master Sewer. After forty seven and a half years of a wonderful marriage, Roy passed away in 1998. In 2001 Edith became a resident at the Pioneer Manor Nursing home.

Her hobbies were sewing, cross-stitching, reading, watching TV, playing bingo, crafts, camping, working in her garden, taking photos, and visiting her grandchildren. Edith was a member of several clubs, Rebekahs, Stitch & Skillet, Past Noble Grands, AARP, Diabetes Clinic, Master Sewers, Communication and Education Club.

She is survived by her three daughters: Karen Ann, Janet Lois, and Cindy Linn, all of Gillette, Wyoming; one son, Dewayne LeRoy Trish Happs; of Washougal, Washington one sister, Martha Saulsbury; one brother, John Eichelberger both of Gillette, one granddaughter, Clara Happs of Washoulgal, Washington, one grandson, Jeremy Meade of Cheyenne, Wyoming and three great grand-children, numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents and husband.

Memorials are suggested in Ediths name to benefit the Pioneer Manor Activities Department, donations and condolences may be sent in care of the Stevenson-Wilson Funeral Home, 210 W. 5th St. Gillette, WY 82718 or via the internet at www.stevensonandsons.com.