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My Grandma Devona: A Devoted Child of God

Today, we celebrate and remember the full and meaningful life, works, devotion, and unyielding Catholic faith of Devona Katherine Weber Nolz a precious daughter to Nicholas and Leona; a sister to 12 Weber siblings; a devoted wife to Alvin, a committed mother to Sharon, David, and Dennis, a loving grandmother to Travis, Jodi, Christa, Amanda, Courtney, Kaley, Emily, Andy, and Erin; and delighted great-grandmother to 17 beautiful children.

Proverbs 31:31 reads, Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. 

Its hard to fully capture 89 years of life, but as a family we hope and pray to honor her. She was special to so many

She was the cute redhead that Alvin noticed and fell in love with at the street dance. They spent 63 years together laughing, dancing, farming, working, raising kids, and loving their family. Together. Always together. A beautiful example of the holy sacrament of marriage for their children and grandchildren to witness.

She was the friend who was always just a phone call away. She loved playing cards, polka dancing, and visiting with her group of close-knit friends.

She was mother to three. Sharon, David, and Dennis share that they remember her beef stew, her fresh baked bred, and Alvins favorite, German Chocolate Cake. She always drove them to CCD on Wednesdays and had them in the pew for Sunday Mass. She was stern, but fair. The kids better not have acted up in church or school, and much of their family time was spent working on the farm together. She helped with the puppies, and Dan, Peggy, and Kelli have plenty of stories about the protective dog, Sissy, the big obstacle to overcome if you wanted to date a Nolz.

Devona was resourceful, too. Her handiwork yielded much fruit for her family. She would sew Sharons dresses and take the boys to town to buy new slacks for the school year. She rendered lard, canned peaches, gathered eggs, and made her own laundry soap.

She was a committed farm wife. She tended to her chickens, opened gates, and even put up hay (until that one time she started the hay field on fire). She helped run Nolz Limousin, and if you were looking to haggle for a deal, Devona was not the one to ask. She was firm on her price. Her home was always immaculate and clean. The kids better not have dragged mud onto her kitchen floor. And in a nod to a different time, she would call her couch a davenport.

Its hard to imagine how the world changed in her nearly nine decades of life, but she handled it with grace, always dressed nicely with her own style no matter where she went. She never wanted to miss a thing you could find her sitting at the county fair watching grandkids show cattle or at a basketball game at the Corn Palace.

And if she couldnt be there for everything, she was eager to hear all about her kids and grandkidsachievements on the phone. She loved having Travis as her birthday buddy, and not a year went by that they didnt celebrate it with a phone call. She was deeply interested in everyoneslives, and was a always a huge supporter to her extended family.

She was known as Granny D to her nine grandkids and 17 great-grandkids. You could never visit her house without a piece of candy or a spare dollar bill being slipped in your pocket. She had epic Easter egg hunts in the backyard, and there was much cousin fun in her basement lots of fun and games, but every once in awhile, she would holler from the top of the stairs to settle down. We sometimes listened, but maybe not as well as Granny D would have liked. 

Later as adults, Granny D loved doting on her great-grandchildren. She would fill a piggy bank for each one to give as a gift, with one caveat to the expecting parents the sooner you told her your secret, the more time she would have to fill the coffers of your bank!

Granny D loved to garden. Her flowers were the beauty of the farm and her backyard at her home on West Ash. She was recognized several times for Garden of the Month Club. Her roses were always stunning. Her hydrangeas full and vibrant pink. And the rows of flowers were neat and well-laid out. She made it look easy, even though I know it’s not. 

The Bible tells us that well know them by their fruits, and while Grandmas harvest on the farm and in her annual gardens are noteworthy, her true bounty and full meaning of her life is evident in the fruits of her family tree and the outward expression of her faith.

A devout and faithful Catholic all of the days of her life, Devona was a true follower of Jesus Christ with a special devotion to Our Lady, Our Heavenly Mother, the Immaculate Virgin Mary. It comes as no surprise to me that she was called home on the anniversary of our Lady of Fatima, Oct. 13.

I cant imagine the number of rosaries Devona prayed for us, without us even knowing. Whenever we had troubles in life, Grandma would listen and commit to saying a rosary on our behalf. One time, she asked David how calving was going, and he told her it wasnt going very well, and that he had a calf who was probably going to die after several days of fighting to get him strong. Grandma promised a rosary, and by golly, that calf was alive and running around the barn healthy as can be the next day.

Even in her old age and flailing health, she gripped that rosary tightly and could still recite the Hail Mary until her final days. One could often find her sitting in the recliner, eyes closed, but her fingers moving across those rosary beads as she prayed from perfect memory. In a final conversation with Amanda, she asked Devona if she would keep praying for all us down here, and she promised that she would. I believe she will because she always did.

Sister Lucia, one of the children at Fatima, once said, There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot solve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

Mary to St. Dominic is known to have promised, The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

So in honor of Devona Katherine Weber Nolz and the times her delicate hands passed over the rosary beads for every single one of us in this room, tonight we give her the proper send off she would have wanted. As her family and friends united in prayer, we dedicate this Holy Rosary for the repose of her soul, our sweet Granny D.

Please, join me in this Holy Rosary for Devona child of God.

 

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