Irene Miihlhause Schulze

Irene Miihlhause Schulze, 88, of Mosheim, passed away peacefully at Providence Health Center in Waco on Saturday morning, December 24, 2016 surrounded by her family. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, December 27, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Clifton led by Pastor Clayton McCord. Visitation will begin at 12:30 p.m., December 27, 2016, prior to the funeral. Burial will be at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Clifton, Texas.

Irene was born April 18, 1928 in her family home near Mosheim, Texas to the late Otto and Helen (Hoehn) Miihlhause, the third of four sisters. She was baptized May 27, 1928 at St John Lutheran Church, Coryell City and confirmed there on April 6, 1941. Irene attended school at Concord from 1934-1938, a one-room schoolhouse on property adjacent to the Miihlhause farm. After the Concord school closed, Irene attended school in Turnersville and graduated in 1945. Irene completed further education at the Four C Business College in Waco in 1946. She worked at the Veterans Administration in Waco from 1946-1949, and she also worked at the James Connally Air Force Base in Waco from 1949-1952.

As a young girl on the farm, Irene enjoyed spending time with her Daddy on Saturdays as they drove to Clifton or Gatesville to have grain ground for livestock feed and to buy supplies, being sure to purchase feed sacks all of the same pattern so dresses could be sewn later. She has recounted stories of helping her dad harness the mules, picking cotton, killing hogs, catching a chicken for Saturday lunch, bringing up the cow from the far pasture for milking, and driving up the turkeys to shelter so they would survive a rainstorm. Learning to crochet from her grandmother, she had a lifelong hobby that she eagerly pursued and had pleasure in sharing her completed projects with family and friends.

There was a boy growing up on the farm next to the Miihlhause farm, Harold Henry Schulze. Irene and Harold got to know each other over the years; he was already thinking of her in 2nd grade when he sent her a special Valentine. After numerous house dance dates with Harold, the couple became engaged and were married on December 6, 1952 at St John Lutheran Church in Coryell City just after Harold returned home from serving in the Korean War. For the wedding reception, Irene's father set up a tent at their home and built a wooden floor for dancing. After Irene and Harold honeymooned in San Antonio, they returned to their new home that Harold and his father, Rudolph Schulze, had built using wood from the St James Lutheran Church near Mosheim. They raised their five children in this home, Linda, Larry, Danny, Barbara and Laurie. Their farm received the 100-year Texas Family Land Heritage Award in 1991.

Irene became a member of Trinity Lutheran Church after she and Harold were married. She was a very active member as she taught Sunday School and Bible School, sang in the choir, and served on various committees.

Irene returned to work in 1976 at the Clifton Livestock Commission. Over the years, she also worked at the Livestock Commissions at West, Waco, Meridian and Gatesville. At the time of her death, she was employed at Livestock Commissions in Meridian, Clifton and Gatesville. Irene enjoyed her time with fellow employees, cattle buyers and sellers who became dear friends to her. In addition, she worked diligently to maintain the family farm as she drove her Mule checking cattle, mending fences and spraying weeds.

Irene loved her family and had many ways of expressing her love and interest in their lives. She enjoyed spending time in the porch swing visiting with family. Irene cheered her children and grandchildren on at sporting and school events. She always had a carton of Blue Bell ice cream in the freezer to share or make an ice cream float, and she loved ice cream drumsticks. She prepared countless wonderful meals and sewed many pieces of clothing for her family. Irene's hobby of being family historian and genealogy expert became a passion. Our history from the Hoehn, Gohlke, Miihlhause, Meyer and Schulze families is well documented. Every family gathering and event was captured in photos that she took. She loved using her iPhone to play Words with Friends, look at photos on Instagram, and search for new ideas on Pinterest. Additionally, she was active in the Heart of Texas German Society.

She was preceded in death by her parents Otto and Helen Miihlhause; husband, Harold, in 2002; sisters, Marie Gaskamp and Ernestine Weiss; sister-in-law, Bertina Bartels, and daughter-in-law, Sherry Henderson Schulze.

She is survived by her children: Linda Collins and husband Richard of Morgan, Larry Schulze and wife Sherry of Clifton, Danny Schulze and wife Mary of Sugar Land, Barbara Evetts and husband Greg of Dallas, Laurie Guinn and husband Dwayne of Clifton; grandchildren and great grandchildren: Jared Canuteson, wife Angie, daughters Avery and Emersen of McKinney; Josh Canuteson, wife Martha, children Ellis and Gwen of Richardson; Kyle Schulze, wife Kacy, sons Sam and Clay, and daughter Sadie (arriving in Feb 2017) of McGregor; Katie Young, husband B. J., son Brady of Waco; Erika Goodfellow, husband Jason, son Beckett of Kirkland, WA; Evan Zieschang of Sugar Land; Blake Schulze of College Station; Derek Zieschang and wife Emily of Bryan; Hannah Zieschang of Austin; Austin Schulze, Krista Zieschang, and Lauren Schulze of Sugar Land; Erin and Scott Evetts of Dallas; Wyatt, Carter, and Trent Guinn of Clifton; sister Evelyn Bohne of Coryell City; and brother-in-law, Herbert Gaskamp, of Mosheim; plus many cousins, nephews and nieces. Pallbearers will be her 17 grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, 803 W. 3rd Street, Clifton, TX 76634 or the Goodall Witcher Healthcare Foundation - Buy-A-Bed Campaign, P. O. Box 549, Clifton, TX 76634 (www.gwhf.org/foundation.asp).