- Date Of Death: April 11, 2015
- State: Indiana
Evelyn Schiesser, age 88, of Chesterton, IN, passed away peacefully at the VNA Hospice in Valparaiso, Indiana on April 11, 2015.
Evelyn was born and raised in Dyer, Indiana, the second child of Marie and Henry Drangmeister. She was preceded in death by her sisters Mary Jane Miller and Laverne Moeller and is survived by her brothers Jerry and Mike Drangmeister.
Evelyn lived most of her adult life in Crown Point, IN where she was married to Thomas Schiesser until 1984. She is survived by seven children; Tom Schiesser, Elaine Schiesser, Jim Schiesser, Joyce Phifer, Mark Schiesser, Steve Schiesser and Paul Schiesser. She is also survived by 5 grandchildren; Marisa Carr, Chris Kobeski, Jeremy Schiesser, Katya Schiesser and Frida Schiesser; and one great-grand child, Madeleine Carr.
Evelyn left Crown Point, IN in 1996 to live with her daughter and son-in law Joyce and Mike Phifer in Granger, Indiana and Pittsburg, Pennsylvania until 2002 . She then lived with her daughter Elaine Schiesser in Highland, IN until 2008. She lived the remainder of her life at the Waters of the Duneland nursing home in Chesterton, IN. Evelyn was a kind, loving and compassionate person who influenced everyone who knew her.
Who is Evie
My Mom knew the Secret of Life for her was to spend her Love. I thought she would run out of it, but the more she spent the more she seemed to have. My Mom had a lovely face, a kind heart and a beautiful mind always in search of more knowledge.
She was always reading, books, magazines, newspapers. I always thought of her as a modern woman, because she knew what was happening. Although she did not tell jokes, she loved to laugh. She loved Peter Sellers, Monty Python and even watched Mystery Science Theater with her youngest son Paul.
She loved the Theatre especially” Phantom of the Opera” and the Movies. She enjoyed The Northwest Indiana Symphony. She loved the Three Tenors and her favor was Luciana Pavarotti. She had 2 daughters. She had 5 sons and she watched a lot of sports. She went to the White Sox games, she watched the Bears, the Bulls and many college games.
As a child she sat on the shore and read a book, while the rest of her family would fish. My Aunt Laverne thought read every book in the Dyer Library. She and Laverne were lifelong friends. My Mom said “The Quality of your friends was much more important than the quantity of friends you had. She & her sister had wonderful Aunts that took them to movies and shows. She had a special bond with her Grandma Margaret. She described her as a Saint that sat in the corner of the room with a rosary in her hand.
She never raised her voice or spoke in anger. She and Laverne would stop in to visit with her in the afternoons. I think my Mom’s gentleness came from my Great Grandma Margaret. As a teenager she was chosen as May Queen. I saw the picture she was lovely. I could not find it or I would have shared it with all of you. At 19 she went to nursing school, she only attended 1 year. I was so proud of her. At 20 one night at a dance, she met Tom Schiesser, he had the gift of gab, was a good dancer and fell in love. Mom said Dad would hold her hand all through Mass for next 2 years. As a 25 year old with 2 small children and a new baby her husband was stricken with polio. I remember the day he left on a stretcher, carried out the front door of our home. He was all bundled up in white blankets, just like a baby, only a small portion of his face could be seen.
This young mom sprang into action, learned to drive and waitressed at Tiebel’s Restaurant. When Dad got better they started up retail store, it went bust. Dad went on and started up a successful Tire Business and Mom would keep the books. My Mom kept a clean house and was a good cook. She made our house a home. We had a big family and something was always happening. As Children I remember praying every night before we jumped into bed. On Holydays, we would all kneel around her bed and pray the rosary with her.
We always went to church even on vacation. On one warm summer vacation there was a note on the door excusing all the parishioners from Mass that Sunday. Mom insisted that we drive to the next town go to church.
Her brother Mike said Mom could go through a crisis and always come out the same lovely, gentle person. Her Niece Pam said my Mom was a gentle soul and a real lady. Her Niece Carol said “I loved your Mom very much. She was a wonderful Aunt. “ My Mom smile was like a bright shiny light. Love you Mom. Evelyn Schiesser 1926-2015
