Mildred F. Glass, age 93, of Sac City, Iowa, passed away on Thursday, February 2, 2006, at the Loring Hospital in Sac City.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 11th, 11:00 a.m., at the United Methodist Church in Sac City with Rev. Dean McPherson officiating. Burial will be at the Oakland Cemetery under the direction of the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home.

Visitation for family and friends will be from 4:00-7:00 p.m. at the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home in Sac City on Friday, February 10th.

Mildred Stedman Glass was born October 18, 1912, in Georgetown, Illinois. She was the fifth of six children born to Edgar and Agusta (Pasha) Stedman. Edgar and Agusta were only two of the many immigrants who flocked to the United States in the 1800s. Edgar traveled from Graves End, England, and Agusta left her home in Berlin, Germany, to eventually meet and settle in Illinois. Edgar supported his growing family by working in the coal mines while his wife remained at home to care for the family. The family’s small frame house was located in the middle of the Illinois community.

Mildred loved school. Her classes consisted basically of reading, spelling, language, and math. Extra curricular activities were important to Mildred. She played basketball during her four years of high school and was crowned the May Queen while in her junior year. She graduated from high school at the age of 18, thus ending her formal education.

While the idea of women working for wages outside the home was not a very popular one in the 1920s and 30s, Mildred held several jobs before her marriage in 1931. At a very young age she found her first job as a babysitter. She lived with her employer’s family for an entire summer and earned only two dollars per week.

Her next job was the age of 15. By lying about her age and claiming that she was 16, she obtained a job at the Danville Flyer Overall Factory. During that summer she lived with her aunt and 14 children and carried a baked bean sandwich with her for lunch everyday.

The factory work was done on a piecework basis. Mildred’s job was to sew cuffs on sleeves and she was paid according to how much work she could accomplish in one day. Mildred was a speedy worker, so her pay averaged nearly five dollars per week. However, the working conditions inside the factory were less than comfortable. Stifling heat and no fans for air circulation made the factory unbearable during the hot summer afternoons.

Mildred’s next job came after her graduation from high school. She worked as a secretary for one year before moving to Sac City, Iowa, where she joined her sister and found employment as a bookkeeper.

It was in Sac City, Iowa, where she met her future husband, Raymond Glass, who was a prominent farmer in the area. They were married December 14, 1931, in St. Joseph, Missouri. When Mildred moved with her husband to their farm home near Sac City it was the first time she had ever stepped foot on a farm. Out of necessity, she quickly learned to adapt and take on the responsibilities of a farm wife.

Raymond taught her how to raise chickens. She started with 500 and sold the eggs she gathered from them daily. She learned to garden and to can vegetables, to churn butter, and to care for their home. Cooking was difficult during their first few years together because they did not yet own an electric stove and refrigerator. When electric conveniences were eventually acquired her workload became easier to manage, although the amount of work remained almost the same.

The couple had four children: Marianna, Pauline, George, and Charles. As a typical woman of her generation, she put her family’s needs first, never considering working outside the home after she was married. This was a life not looked upon with contempt and drudgery, as is sometimes the case today, but with pride and a feeling of self-fulfillment.

In the 1960s Mildred and Raymond enjoyed a prosperous, healthy, and active life. Without the constraints of child rearing and farm living, they developed hobbies such as golfing, fishing, bowling, sewing, playing bridge, and macramé. They enjoyed spending the warm summer months at their home in Sac City, Iowa, and the winter months at their home in Sun City, Arizona. Raymond passed away in 1999.

Mildred was an active member of the United Methodist Church in Sac City, UMW, Eastern Star Chapter #18 O.E.S., and Past Matron.

Survivors include her daughter, Pauline Lauterbach and her husband Mark of San Antonio, TX, and son George Glass and his wife Bonnie of Sac City, IA. Other survivors include her daughter-in-law, Marize Glass of Coralville, IA; her sister Marjorie Lewis and her husband Isaac of Peru, IL; 12 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; one great-great grandson; extended family members; and a host of friends.

Mildred was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Raymond on February 12, 1999; infant daughter, Marianna; son, Charles William; three brothers: William, Russell, and Donald Stedman; two sisters: Leone Farber and Elizabeth Stedman; and great-grandson Kevin Scott Glass.