Florence Marie Spengler

FLORENCE M. SPENGLERFlorence Marie (Jochum) Spengler, age 97, of Marshall died Thursday, July 27, 2006 at Lifespan Good Samaritan Hospice Residence in the loving care of her family.Mrs. Spengler was born on January 11, 1909 in Chicago, Illinois to Louis and Mary (Reglan) Jochum. On September 10, 1927, she married Earl Spengler in Chicago, where they lived until moving to Albion, Michigan in 1953.In addition to being a homemaker and a mother of two, Florence and her husband owned and operated the Home Laundry in Albion from 1953, to 1963. She then worked in administration and sales at Marshall Field''s in Skokie, IL after their return to the Chicago area in 1963. Florence retired to Marshall with her husband in 1975 to be near family.Florence''s greatest joy was her large and loving family and she looked forward to being part of every gathering, large and small. She loved babysitting for her great-grandchildren, and when she turned them back over to their parents, she''d been known to joke, "I don''t spoil them, I just gave them everything they asked for." Through the years, she made scrapbooks of her great-grandchildren''s accomplishments and a birthday never passed without the arrival of a card, singed, "Loads of Love, Gram."The beautiful crocheted tablecloths and baby blankets she made are treasured heirlooms, and, recently, she was making baby blankets to donate to a local shelter for battered women. Florence lived in her own home until the age of 96 and then lived as an independent resident in Maplewood of Marshall for the final year and a half of her life. She attributed her longevity to the fact that she "counted her blessings" everyday, and she considered her family her greatest blessing of all.Florence is survived by her children, Irene (Wynne) Hammond of Marshall and Earl (Irene) Spengler of Apple Valley, CA; her sister, Anna (Robert) Hanson of Riverside, IL; grandchildren, James (Cathy) Wynne, Michael Wynne, Mary Ellen (Robert) Currie, Eileen (Russell) Wicklund, Carlette (Robert) Kolesnik, Regina Wynne (David Jones) and Nora (Stephen) Jamski; great-grandchildren, Jeremy (Sarah) Currie, Leslie (Shawn) Lee, Dana Wicklund, Greg Wicklund, Jeffery Kolesnik, Brittany Kolesnik, Alison Wynne, Ashley Wynne and Michael Wynne; great-great-grandchildren, Andrew Currie, Caleb Currie, Isaiah Currie and Samuel Currie. Florence was preceded in death by husband in 1979 and by her brothers, Fred Jochum, Clarence Jochum and Theodore Jochum and a granddaughter, Carol Spengler.The family will receive friends on Sunday from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at the Craig K. Kempf Funeral Home. A funeral Mass will be held 11:00 am Monday at St. Mary Catholic Church. Interment will follow in Oakridge Cemetery. Friends who wish may make memorial contributions to the Lifespan Good Samaritan Hospice Residence or to the Marshall Fountain Clinic. Assistance with memorial is available at the funeral home.