Adeline M. Strasser's Obituary
Adeline M. Strasser born on January 3, 1926 to Warren and Mary Conger on a small farm about eight miles north of Oshkosh, Adeline Maryetta Strasser, 98, died on September 13 at Evergreen Sharehaven North in Oshkosh.
She was one of 10 children and is survived by her brothers, Donald and Gene.
In July of 1945 she married William "Bud" Strasser and together they had three children: Myles (Lynette), Rita (Ken) and Bill (Kris). She had five grandchildren: Shalyn (Erich), Shane, Josh, Greta and Sophie (Daniel). And one great grandchild, Lucia.
Because there was no money and no future on the farm, she quit high school in the early 40s and shared an apartment with her lifelong friend Gerry. They both worked whatever factory job was available for young women to pay the rent.
One day, while on the assembly line of a bottle factory, she looked at one with something odd inside, looked closer, yelled "Eek a mouse!" and bolted out of the place like an Olympic sprinter in lane 4. Years later she would tell us (her kids) "Back in those days you could quit a job and walk a block down the street to get another one."
Soon she would meet her lifetime companion, William (Bud) Strasser and they would be married at First English Lutheran Church by Rev. E. A. Koch on July 31, 1945. They were a blue collar couple all the way, but gave us everything we needed or wanted, including a July trip every summer Up North into Eagle River, Land O' Lakes and Minoqua. We all remember the nightly trips to the dump grounds where we would wait for the bears to come out and watch them dine al fresco.. They even let us bring a friend along and buy them ice cream cones at the little dairy shop right next to the live bait store with the Fish of the Day displayed in the cooler in the window. Usually it was a musky from Lac Vieux Desert.
But our mother's early years would be defined by Leon's Frozen Custard, where she carhopped for 12 years. We can still see her in her white outfit speed-walking from car to car with trays of malts, joosburgers, chili hot dogs. Her average tip was a dime and a quarter was big-time money. With her earnings we were able to buy a green Nash Rambler in 1953. We took that vehicle to the 44 Outdoor Theater about ten thousand times to watch John Wayne beat up no-goods and other assorted wastrels.
To put it succinctly, she was the backbone of our family. She made sure we were dressed appropriately for school and made sure we went to Sunday School, where we talked about Jesus and then used our crayons to color Moses, the apostles, and, of course, David and Goliath.
She loved flowers and spent many hours of her later years in her garden, seeding, picking, and pulling. Come to think of it, she was a flower herself, beautiful even in her 80s and 90s, always checking in her hand-held mirror if the lipstick was precisely placed and the eyebrows were just right.
In her final days at Sharehaven, she would put that mirror on the cart in front of her walker when she went to breakfast. She was Elizabeth Taylor and she knew it. If there was a bit of vanity, so be it.
We will always love you, Mom. You brought us into this world and made sure we were well tended. God bless you because He certainly blessed us.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 11 am at the Fiss & Bills Funeral Home at 865 S. Westhaven Drive. Oshkosh, WI 54904. Rev. John Dorn will officiate. Visitation will be held on Saturday from 10 am until the time of service at the funeral home.
In Lieu of flowers please send donations to the Oshkosh Humane Society at 1925 Shelter Ct. Oshkosh, WI 54901. Adeline's wishes were NO flowers. Thank You.
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