Virginia A Eder

John and Teresa Luebbers welcomed their first of eight children, Virginia Anna Magdalena, on May 8, 1923, in Bushton, Kansas.

Virginia enjoyed helping her parents, taking care of her siblings, attending Catholic School in Marienthal when she turned 7 years old, and especially loved spending summers with her grandparents where every afternoon she carried lemonade and cookies to the workers in the field.  She attended high school in Leoti, Kansas where she graduated Salutatorian in 1942.

On April 28, 1943 she married George Eder.  She said she saw him in church and knew he was the one! In 1946 they moved to Arriba, Colorado with their two boys, Jerry and Larry. They were farmers and ranchers.  Three more children joined the family: Karen, Cynthia, and David.

Virginia loved her farm to the very end. After staying with Cindy and Dan in Goodland, Kansas for the past 10 months following a stroke, phone calls with David about any farm activities would put a smile on her face and a bounce in her step! Did I mention, she LOVED her farm to the very end!

Like all farmer’s wives, she helped with milking the cows, doing chores, driving tractor, taking lunches to the field and whatever she could do to help George build up the family farm.  PLUS, keeping up with those five little ones!  She still found time to sew clothes for her family. She gardened and canned. She loved making crafts and decorating cakes, and made many birthday and wedding cakes.  Just two weeks ago she made a First Communion cake for a great grandson and was so pleased that she could still do it at the age of 96!  Virginia’s family has many quilts she has made over the years.  The past four years she has made numerous lap quilts for the veterans in memory of her Marine son, Larry.

Virginia was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Flagler.  She served as an officer of the Church Auxiliary for over 35 years, cleaned  church until after she was 85, and designed and kept up a Church scrapbook right to her last days.  She was happy to attend Mass at her own Church this past Easter.  She was a lifetime member of the VFW Auxiliary in Goodland, Kansas, attending last month’s meeting in preparation of Flag Day when again veterans will be honored with lap quilts.

Making homemade noodles was only one of Virginia’s specialties. Grandkids looked forward to a gift of a bucket of noodles at Christmas time.  She was known as the “Noodle Queen!”  Another title was “The Patching Grandma”.  No tear was too big for this grandma to patch- the grands knew she could fix it!

George died in December 1986, Jerry in September 2010, Larry in December 2015, and a son-in-law, Doug Hanson, in February 2016.  Virginia’s strong faith carried her through these times.

Deceased siblings are brothers Roch, John and Paul Luebbers, and sisters Mary Ann Wimmer and Bernetta Curvey.  Surviving are her sister Janet Bancroft and husband Jack, of Seibert; a brother Tom Luebbers and wife Delores, of Platteville; and two sisters-in-law, Millie Luebbers of Castle Rock, and Florence Daubert of Scott City, Kansas.

She will be terribly missed by Karen Hanson of Johnstown, Cindy and husband Dan of Goodland, Kansas, and David on the family farm at Arriba. Virginia has 19 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren (who call her “Great”), one great-great-grandson, and a great-granddaughter who will arrive in August.

Virginia loved her family.  They were blessed to have her for so many years.