Rachel Lydia Thiel

Former Hastings resident, Rachel Lydia (nee Walker) Thiel, 89, most recently living in Kansas City, Missouri, died at the New Mark Care Center there on Tuesday, January 10, 2006. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, January 14, at First St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hastings, with Reverend Joel Remmers, officiating. Burial will be in Parkview Cemetery. Visitation will be at the Brand Wilson Mortuary in Hastings on Friday, January 13, 2005 from 8 AM to 9 PM, with family members present between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m, at the Brand-Wilson Chapel, Hastings, NE. Condolences may be sent to the family from, www.brandwilson.com. Mrs. Thiel was born, December 3, 1916 to John and Mary (Hoffarber) Walker in Hastings, NE. She graduated from Hastings High in 1935, she married Raymond Thiel of Hastings on June 28, 1936 in Grand Island, and lived in Hastings and Grand Island before moving to San Diego, California in 1941. In 1947 Rachel and Ray returned to Hastings and entered the Thiel family business, Thiel's Caf(c), which they owned and operated in downtown Hastings until September of 1980. An avid volunteer and sports fan, Rachel tended the coffee cart at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital, delivered meals on wheels, and provided in home care for homebound persons. She bowled, golfed, played bridge, and was a huge fan of Nebraska football and professional golfer. She was also a long time active member of First St. Paul Lutheran Church, participating in many congregational ministries, notably Stephen's Ministers, and of Acacia Chapter No. 39 of the Order of Eastern Star, serving a term as Worthy Matron. Rachel's survivors include: son and daughter-in-law, Raymond and Lola Thiel of Omaha, Nebraska; daughter and son-in-law, Pamela and Nicholas Vollers of Gladstone, Missouri; six granddaughters, two grandsons, five great grandchildren and other relatives and friends. She is preceded in death by her husband, four brothers and four sisters. Memorial may be given to the First St. Paul Lutheran Church of Hastings.