Mildred E. Held, 102 went to be with her Lord on Sunday, August 20, 2017 after a prolonged illness.   Viewing will be 2-6 pm, with family receiving friends from 4-6 pm, Sunday, August 27 at Chaney-Reager Funeral Home. Funeral services are planned for 10:30 am, Monday, August 28 at the Sterling Church of the Nazarene, located at 1600 N. Sidney Ave. Interment will follow at the LeRoy Cemetery.

Mildred E. Held was born on July 31, 1915 in the LeRoy community south of Fleming, the oldest of two children by William and Lydia Dreier Sonnenberg.   She and her younger brother, Arlo, grew up there on the family farm and attended LeRoy school through 8 ^th grade before her graduation from Harding High School in 1932.   While at Harding she was a member of the Debate Team, sang with the Girl's Trio, and played on the Lady Panthers basketball team.   As a Harding Freshman, Mildred met the upper classman she would later marry, Clarence Held.

Mildred was a bright and ambitious child who fell in love with music at a young age and was inspired by her grade school teacher, Grace Reinhardt, to learn the piano when in 5 ^th grade.    One of her favorite memories was the cardboard keyboard she made to practice and pretend with at home prior to her parents taking delivery of the catalog piano ordered and paid for with their meager savings.   By the age of 16, Mildred was playing piano for the LeRoy Church and serving as a piano accompanist for both Harding School and for her church.

As a child of the Great Depression era, Mildred helped her family in their LeRoy farm home until she was able to secure a job as office secretary with the Logan County ASC office.  On February 16, 1937, Mildred and Clarence were married and moved south of LeRoy to a section of land first homesteaded by Clarence's grandfather in the 1880's.      It was there that the young couple began their family with the birth of their daughter, Ramona.  As a fulltime wife and mother through the war years, Mildred served her LeRoy Church as pianist in worship and as officer in the Women's Missionary Society.   She recalled, "I held every job they had," and was president when they came out with their LeRoy cookbook to raise money for the EUB Christian missionaries.

Another skill Mildred developed very young in life and continued throughout her years was sewing.   She recalls learning when she was "maybe 6" years old, began quilting with her mother at age 10, and through her years as wife and mother was an efficient seamstress for herself and her growing family.   Mildred and Clarence added a son to their family, Daniel, for whom additional bedding and attire would be sewn by her most capable hands.

Just prior to the War years, Mildred was able to purchase a piano for their home and begin offering piano lessons.    Her first student, a young cousin named Grace Hagemeier, would ride to the Held home by horseback weekly.  Grace recalls being made by her older cousin to first wash her hands before taking her lesson.

Mildred continued to teach piano for many years to come, finally "retiring" at age 101.   She also played piano, organ, and keyboard for her church throughout most of her adult years.   She accompanied the men's quartets at both LeRoy United Methodist and the Sterling Church of the Nazarene, and for countless weddings, funerals, and other occasions.  Mildred was an active member of the Sterling Piano Teacher's Association for many years.

Mildred was a member and past president of the Sterling camp for Gideon's International Auxiliary.  Together with her late husband, she was active in serving the Gideons for many years in multiple capacities.  In addition to these parachurch activities, she served on the administrative boards of both the LeRoy (then EUB) Church and later the Sterling Church of the Nazarene.    Her dedicated service to the Lord has been nearly a lifelong endeavor, as well as her commitment to feed, clothe, mend for, and teach piano to her family throughout the generations.

She is preceded in death by her parents, William and Lydia, her husband, Clarence, her granddaughter, Rhonda, and many dear cousins and friends made through her ten full decades of life.  She is survived by her children, Ramona (Duane) Kirkwood of Sterling, and Dan (Sue) Held of Dayton, Ohio; three grandchildren, Donelle Hogarth of Denver, Denise (John) King of Fleming, and Randy (Jolene) Kirkwood of Fleming; seven great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any memorial gifts be directed to the Sterling Church of the Nazarene, Gideon's International, or Hospice of the Plains, in care of Chaney-Reager Funeral Home, PO Box 1046, Sterling, CO 80751.