Beulah Klitzke of Ness City passed away at the Ness County Hospital in Ness City on the 30th of November 2009 at the age of 98 years and 334 days. She had been a resident of the Long Term Care facility at that hospital for seven years. Born in Ransom as Beulah Mae Schaefer on December 31, 1910 to Heinrich Schaefer and Mary Nimz Schaefer, she was the youngest in the family of two sons and two daughters.
She graduated from Ransom High School in 1927. She taught for a brief time in a one-room school north of Ransom and then went to Colorado Springs to study to become a beautician, a profession that she practiced for a brief time both before and after marriage. In February of 1933, she married Orville Klitzke (deceased), son of Frederick and Lena (Ummel) Klitzke of Ransom, and they began their married life on a farm north of Utica. They later purchased a farm west of Ransom, where they ran a dairy for a time and farmed and lived until 1959, when they moved to Ness City. While in Ransom, they also ran the Gambles hardware store in Ness City, commuting from Ransom while maintaining their farming. Later, she and Orville ran the Ness City Flower and Music until they retired from business, and Beulah was a full partner in the running of both businesses.
While in Ransom, she was a member of the Monday Evening Club and as such volunteered in the Ransom Public Library. After moving to Ness City, she was a member of the Gradatim Club. She was a lifelong member of the First Mennonite Church in Ransom and frequently served as pianist for services there. She was a popular accompanist even into her later years, as she played piano well and was especially good at playing by ear. She also loved singing and could improvise vocal harmony. A favorite entertainment at family gatherings often consisted of her playing the piano while singing alto in whatever vocal trio could be mustered from those present. Music was always a very important part of her life, a love that she passed on to her only daughter, Cheryl.
She was preceded in death by her two brothers, Charles and Henry Schaefer, and her sister, Sophia Schaefer Folkers. She is survived by her daughter, Cheryl Dawson, of York, PA, and many nieces, nephews and friends.
Funeral service will be Friday, December 4, 2009, 10:30 am at Fitzgerald Funeral Home, Ness City with Reverend Mark Chambers presiding. Friends may call at the funeral home on Thursday from 11:00 am until 9:00 pm . Burial in the Ness City Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be given to the First Mennonite Church in Ransom or to the Ness County Hospital in Ness City.