Active Life Means Longevity for Mrs. Augusta Griep, 90          

Mrs. Augusta Griep, who observed her 90th birthday anniversary Sunday with a party at her home at 711 S. Second Street, has led an active life. It is to this that she attributes her longevity.  Even in recent years Mrs. Griep has been active about the house, helping with meal preparations and dish-washing.  When the weather is warm she does a great deal of walking and often spends a few minutes in the back yard picking four-leaf clovers which no one else seems able to find.

She was born Augusta Brandenberg, Jan. 6, 1862, and lived in Greifenberg, Germany, until 1884 when she came to the United States to join Julius Griep, to whom she had become engaged in Germany.  The couple were married Oct. 21, 1884, at the home of Mr. Griep’s sister, Mrs. August Rottler, who lived south of Stanton at the time.  They lived for a time on a farm near Stanton where Mrs. Griep often helped her husband in the field.  They later moved to Fremont where Mr. Griep was employed for a time before returning to a ranch west of Norfolk where he worked for a number of years.

Worked for Railroad

From the ranch they moved to Norfolk where Mr. Griep was employed by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad for a number of years.  The later took an 80 acre tract southwest of Norfolk in Stanton County and farmed there until they retired to their home on Thirteenth street here.  A little over a year after they observed their golden wedding anniversary in 1934, Mr. Griep died of a heart ailment.  

The couple had three children, two daughters and a son.  The boy died while the couple lived at Fremont.  The child was two at the time , and as Mrs. Griep phrased it.  “he was such a bright boy.”  A daughter, Mrs. Almuth Kapple, died while giving birth to a daughter around the turn of the century.  The third child, Mrs. Frank Maas, now resides in Sebastopol. Calif.  It was with Mrs. Maas that Mrs. Griep lived after the death of her husband.  When the Maases moved to Dalifornia four years ago, Mrs. Griep chose to remain here and now makes her home with Mrs. Henrietta Mosher at 711 S. Second Street.

Daughter is Here

Mrs. Maas arrived here to visit with her mother late in November and was present for the party held Sunday.  She will return to her California home early this week.  Mrs. Griep, whose first days in school in Germany were associated with the Bible yet today spends much of her time reading it and the newspapers.  Her eyes have remained in good condition and when the light is sufficiently strong she is yet able to read without glasses.

About 20 friends and neighbors were present Sunday.  Among those present were the Rev. M. G. Vance of the Evangelical United Brethren Church here and several members of the choir, who sang a few selections.  Among those who sang were Mrs. S. E. Reichow, Miss Anna Schermer, Mr. and Mrs. William Rottler, and Mr. and Mrs. Ervin Werner.  A duet, “Shall I Find a Star,” was sung by Mr. and Mrs. Rottler.  A birthday cake, baked for the event by Mrs. Maas and Mrs. Lawrence Heckendorf, was served.

Source:  The Norfolk Daily News, Mon. Jan. 7, 1952, page 5.

Deaths 

Mrs. Augusta Griep

Mrs. Augusta Greip, 95, former of Norfolk, died Thursday night in a rest home at Wayne.  Funeral services will be held at Norfolk, the time to be announced later.  She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Frank Maas, Pentluma, Calif.  Source:  The Norfolk Daily News, Fri, Oct. 4, 1957, page 9

Mrs. Augusta Greip

Funeral services for Mrs. Augusta Griep, 95, who died Thursday  in a Wayne rest home, were conducted Tuesday afternoon at the Norfolk Home for Funerals by the Rev. Wayne Schruers, First Evangelical United Brethern Church pastor.  Music was furnished by Mrs. Virgil Schlack, vocalist, and Mrs. A. G. Weddingfeld, organist.  Burial was in Prospect Hill Cemetery.  Pallbearers were Ed and Fred Maas, Erich Meierhenry, Charles Jochens, Fred sChroeder and William Chesslie.

Augusta Brandenburg was born Jan. 6, 1862, at Lubzig by Griefenberg, Germany.  In 1884 she came to America with her parents.  She was married Oct. 28, 1884 to Julus Griep at the home of August Rottler in Stanton.  They were the parents of two daughters and one son.  Since coming to America she had resided in the Norfolk community with the exception of the past two years which she spent in the Wayne rest home. 

She was one of the original members of the Norfolk Evangelical United Brethern Church.  She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Frank Maas of Sebastopol, Calif., two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by her husband, one daughter, Almuth, and a son, Helmuth, in infancy.  Source:  The Norfolk Daily News, Wed. Oct. 9, 1957, page 13