Edith “Edie” May (Miller) Siemers, 89, of Russell, Kansas, passed away Friday, April 28, 2023 at Russell Regional Hospital.
Edie was born July 26, 1933 at the Georgetown Hospital in Washington D.C., one of five children born to Thomas L. and Alice L. (Chapman) Miller. She grew up in Arlington, Virginia and graduated from Holy Trinity High School before attending the St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing-Baltimore to get her nursing degree.
Through a chance introduction from their siblings, Edie and Delvin “Del” Siemers met and were later married on January 18, 1958 at the St. Ann Catholic Church in Arlington, Virginia. They moved to Del’s hometown of Luray, KS, sight-unseen to Edie, where they raised their three children, Tom, Margo, and Eric. When the kids were grown, Edie and Del moved to Mesa, AZ for a brief time before choosing to make their home in Russell, KS. She lost Del on August 10, 2007, just shy of their 50th anniversary.
Edie was a Registered Nurse (RN) and was proud of her career, which began at the Arlington Hospital in Virginia and continued for nearly 40 more years in Russell, where she worked in the office of Dr. Earl Merkel, Dr. Jerald Starkey, and others. She was a member of St. Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church and St. Mary’s Guild, American Legion Auxiliary of Luray, VFW Ladies Auxiliary of Russell, and Russell Regional Hospital Auxiliary.
Edie was an avid reader who couldn’t wait to share a good book with a friend or the hospital auxiliary, and she never met a jigsaw or crossword puzzle she couldn’t tackle. A skilled seamstress and quilter, she lovingly assembled quilts for her children as wedding gifts and crocheted blankets for her grandchildren upon arrival. The baby blankets, affectionately dubbed “poke-hole-blankies” by Edie’s grandchildren, were found particularly useful to clutch or cuddle (sometimes while sucking an intertwined thumb). Some of Edie’s favorite things were lilacs in the springtime, the feel of soft velvet, the chimes of her clock, organized photo albums, shopping and eating at Taco Shop with her daughter, watching Tom Selleck TV shows, and the comfort of her glider rocker and Birkenstock sandals. She collected stamps and the annual, official White House Christmas ornaments, and she was especially interested in the history and politics out of Washington, DC, having grown up in that area. She loved reading her monthly South Dakota Magazine and learning about her son’s adopted home-state. Edie was able to appreciate the little things, and always saw the best in others.
Edie’s surviving family includes her daughter, Margo Ochs (Kevin) of Russell, Kansas and her sons, Tom Siemers (Cindy) of Topeka, Kansas, and Eric Siemers (Jodi) of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as well as her sister, Ruth Walston of Rock Port, Texas and her eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild (plus another she was eager to greet later this year).
Edie was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Del, along with her brother, John Miller, and sisters, Teresa Siemers and Nancy Broyhill. Celebration of the Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 AM, Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at St. Mary, Queen of Angels Catholic Church of Russell. Burial will follow at the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Russell. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary. Vigil and Rosary will be held at 7:15 PM, Tuesday at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary. Memorials have been established with St. Mary’s Catholic Church or the Russell Regional Hospital Auxiliary. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, which is in charge of these arrangements.