Belva J. Siewert, 78, of Merrill, passed away on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, in the Pine Crest Nursing Home’s Special Care Unit in Merrill.
Belva was born June 19, 1935, Belva Jeane Nuehring, to Lester and Etta (Visser) Nuehring in Gleason.
She graduated from Merrill High School in June 1953, and then attended the Lincoln County Normal College graduating in 1955 with a Teaching Certificate.
Belva married Ronald Siewert on June 26, 1954 in the Merrill Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses; sharing the next 59 years together.
Belva loved to read and enjoyed helping others in any way that she could; either with her kind words or with her generosity. She had the privilege of teaching school for one year at the Schultz Spur School, a one-room schoolhouse with Grades 1-8 in the town of Merrill. She and her husband, Ron, also drive school bus (car) for the Plauman and Sunrise Schools in the Merrill area together.
Belva found great joy in reading the Bible daily and so was baptized along with her father, Lester, as one of Jehovah Witnesses in January 1955. She found much happiness and comfort in God’s Word and promises for the future and shared the scriptures with many, andy conducted Bible studies with them throughout her lifetime.
Most of her life was spent alongside Ron on their family dairy farm just North of Merrill, where they raised six children together: two sons and four daughters. Belva had a great love for animals and nature and was actively involved in all aspects of “life on the farm,” including having a large garden and many flowers. She loved having visitors come to the farm to spend time with her family, ride horses and enjoy the animals and country life.
Belva was thrilled that she and Ron were able to visit friends in Germany on two different occasions; an experience she held dear to her heart and talked about often.
Belva’s lifelong love of books and poetry was in part fulfilled when she was able to work for 15 years at the T.B. Scott Library from 1991-2006. Because of her love of reading and the importance she felt for the development in young miinds, all her children and grandchildren had the privilege of being read to by her at an early age.
Belva is survived by her beloved husband, Ron, Merril; and her six children: Kenneth (Mina) Siewert, Merrill, Rebecca (Claude) Raasch, Merrill, Jennifer (Donald “Sonny”) Mack, East Grand Forks, MN, Sally (Lee) Wesley, Las Vegas, NV, Elizabeck (Derek) Bickford of Hartford, and Theodore (Nancy) Siewert, Abbotsford; along with 12 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Belva is further survived by one sister, Glenndine Bertrand in Pennsylvania, and a special aunt, Dorothy Mussell of Merrill; also several nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
She was also preceded in death by her parents lester and Etta Nuehring, an infant brother Sidney Lester, and two brothers, Timothy and David who died in a plane crash near the Merrill Airport on May 6, 1961.
A memorial service for Belva will be held Sunday, June 23 at 5 p.m. at the Merrill Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses, N3010 Hwy. K, Merrill.
Friends may visit starting at 3 p.m. until the time of service; Robert Ruprich will be officiating. The John J. Buettgen Funeral Home of Wausau also assisted the family.
And a very special thank you to the Pine Crest Nursing Home staff; especially the Special Care Unit for the loving care given to our mom/wife over the past two years.