Lydia Christgau Fankell, 94

Lydia Anne Christgau Fankell, 94, of Clear Lake, Iowa, died Wednesday, June 19, 2002, at the Oakwood Care Center, Clear Lake, Iowa.

She March 26, 1908, to Otto and Hannah (Baumgardner) Goetsch in Dexter Township.

She attended Austin Central High School in Austin.

On June 24, 1931, she married Edgar Christgau. They purchased a farm 10 miles east of Austin and lived there until Edgar's death in 1977.

She helped Edgar write insurance for Mower County Farmers Mutual and worked as a sales clerk in Austin.

On May 5, 1979, she married Everett Fankell at Trinity Lutheran Church, Dexter Township. They moved to Clear Lake, Iowa. The couple enjoyed bus tours throughout the United States. They also visited Hawaii, Greece and England.

Lydia was a long time member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Dexter Township, confirmed by Pastor Otto Hohenstein in 1908. She sang in the church choir for over 30 years, and was active in the Ladies Aid Society. While living in Clear Lake, she was an active member of the Senior Citizens Center.

Survivors include sons, Loren, Yuma, Ariz.; Hilbert, Clear Lake, Iowa; Wayne, Clear Lake, Iowa; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; sisters, Rose Heikes, Austin; Alma Studer, North Branch.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, Edgar, in 1977; second husband, Everett, in 2001; brothers, Arthur, Leonard and Harvey Goetsch; sisters, Elsie Studer and Tillie Carson.

Visitation: 5 to 7 p.m., Sunday, June 23, 2002, at the funeral home and Monday at the church from 12 to 1:30 p.m.

Service: 1:30 p.m., Monday, at the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Dexter Township with the Revs. Robert Seifert and Jerome Gernander officiating.

Interment: Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Dexter Township.

Funeral Home: Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, Clear Lake, Iowa.

Memorials: To Trinity Lutheran Church in Dexter Township, or the Senior Citizens Center in Clear Lake, Iowa.