Ethel M. Stroh

Ethel Stroh was born on April 6, 1919 to Charles Rehmer and Mary Kunish. Charles was a German immigrant, born just shortly after Lincoln's death, Charles came to the United States when he was just 16 years old. He suffered a ""banishment"" from a baronial Estate near Berlin, for striking an overbearing overseer. His relatives raised $50 for his passage in 1881 to Ellis Island, New York on onwards to his Uncle Schmidt's farm in Nebraska. Ethel's mother was quite a bit younger than Charles and was known to be deeply religious. She was also from Nebraska. Together, they had 11 children: Alice, Charles, James, Mary, John, Fred, William, Albert, Ethel, Elaine, and Bernice. Ethel was born and grew up on a farm near Greeley, Colorado, that in all accounts was pretty rough living. There is still a reservoir in the area named the Rehmer Reservoir. Her father was known for being a loving father but also a disciplinarian, who exacted heavy toil on the farm, from all of his children, starting at an early age. All the children were expected to work their fair share on the farm.. In her teens, Ethel worked as both a nanny and housekeeper in Greeley. From all accounts, the Rehmer family was very poor. Ethel had memories of wearing rags to school and being bullied by kids, making it very difficult for her to continue to attend school. Ethel herself managed to finish her GED somewhere around the age of 25. She also helped her sisters complete theirs as well. Ethel was introduced to her husband, Conrad Raymond Stroh by his sister in Miliken, Colorado. She married Ray on October 29th, 1938. Both her and Ray moved to Denver in the early forties when Ray got a job on General Iron Works as an engineer. During that time, she was a secretary at the Englewood Methodist church and also briefly worked as a legal secretary at her brother's law firm. She had one son named Donald Stroh, who had three grandchildren named Karyn, Kristina and Michelle. They also had a dog named Snooky. Those who knew Ethel well knew that she loved to sing and wanted to be an opera singer one day. She was able to sing in the Denver Post Opera and at her church. She also took lyrics from poems that her sister Bernice had made and put them to music. The two of them managed to have one of their songs put onto a small cord. And who could forget her love of the harmonica? Ethel was an avid supporter of the Democratic Party and was actively involved in politics. She even served as a committeeperson for Arapahoe County for a brief while. In her later years, Ethel was very active in charity. She enjoyed giving to charities like the Veterans of Foreign Wars and many charitable animal causes. She felt that it was her duty on this earth to help care for others that were less fortunate than her. A Memorial Service for Ethel will be held on Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:00 PM at the First Universalist Church of Denver, 4101 East Hampden Avenue, Denver. Please share memories and leave condolences for Ethel's family by signing the guestbook.