Elsie Mattie Fehrenkamp

Elsie Mattie Mikeska Fehrenkamp passed away peacefully on Sunday night, November 10, 2024, in her home in Sugar Land Texas, with family members and her pastor at her side. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and devout Lutheran, whose passing leaves us with fond memories. She was over 103 years old when she left us and will always be remembered for her kind thoughtfulness and bright smiling attitude.

She was Born to Peter Mikeska and Bertha Stulken Mikeska on the family farm near Hallettsville, Texas on May 19, 1921. Elsie was raised in a farming community during the Depression, where her family and their neighbors were dependent on what they could produce from the land.

Growing up with her siblings, Leroy Mikeska and Selma Mikeska Smith, both now deceased, she took part in the chores necessary for the farm: feeding chickens & livestock; working the cotton and corn fields, caring for the vegetable garden, and helping can and pickle the vegetables harvested. The children also helped with the “meat club”, where neighbors would share the butchering of one head of livestock and divide it among the families. With this early upbringing Elsie developed a strong work ethic which lasted her life. She would look forward to going to town on Saturdays, where she could savor her special treat, a 5-cent strawberry milkshake!

Elsie graduated from Hallettsville High School in May 1939, where she had a keen interest in the business courses, and her teachers recognized her for having a “good head for figures.” Her plan to attend business school was fulfilled when Smalley Business School offered her some part-time work for tuition and board, and she moved to Houston which set her on a lifelong career. Elsie started with several small bookkeeping jobs and then moved on to Sears-Roebuck in Houston.

While sharing a small apartment with other girlfriends in downtown Houston, she met the love of her life, Edgar Joseph Fehrenkamp, a young man working in Houston in 1941. Rumor has it Edgar had to call her 6 times for their first date, but his persistence paid off, and finally she accepted. When Edgar’s deferment expired in 1942, he joined the Army Air Force. On November 20, 1943, they were married, and both moved to Liberal, Kansas, where Edgar was stationed. After Kansas Edgar was transferred and Elsie moved back to Houston to a small apartment where she set up house and went back to work. Wars come and wars go, and when this one ended Edgar was discharged in 1946, and he moved back to Houston and joined Elsie in their small apartment.

Elsie started work for Humble Oil (now Exxon) as a bookkeeper and Edgar also worked as an accountant for an Industrial Company. Their interest in each other and in their work grew, and in 1950 they bought their first house in East Houston where their three children were born. After her first child Elsie continued to work but when the second birth turned out to be twins, they decided this was too much, and Elsie settled into her hardest job ever, that of raising 3 children. The family became her focus, and all the other items included: school activities, neighborhood functions, boyfriends, girlfriends, graduations. After raising us to middle teenage years, she decided to go back to work to help support the family. She landed at Tillinghast Management Company, an early Answering Service which grew to a Cellular Phone company, and Elsie grew right along with them. In the 25+ years she was employed there, she worked her way up from bookkeeping to Controller.

Throughout it all Elsie was active and got involved with life and people: personally, professionally and spiritually. She was a Girl Scout Leader, a Cub Scout Leader, a PTA Membership Chairman, a Garden Club President for many years, and the Secretary for the Professional Women in Business group in Houston. All this, yet she still had time to spend with her family and loved ones. Elsie loved dancing, and Edgar knew he had better learn to step up to keep up with her. They enjoyed many a fun night dancing and practicing with their groups for square dancing, round dancing, and country dancing. Elsie and Edger were members of The Cane Raisers Square Dancing group here in Sugar Land and developed lifelong friendships there.

After an earlier membership with Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Houston, Elsie and Edgar moved to Sugarland in 1980, and Elsie found a new church family in a small start-up congregation in a strip shopping center. This church was soon named Fishers of Men Lutheran Church. As always, Elsie helped the young pastor, Tom VanDuzer, and the new congregation, get started, with whatever she could: bookkeeping, office work, social calls. She and Edgar later helped with the breaking of ground to build a new church in its current location, and she became a Stephen Minister for the church afterwards. Her final happiest days were here at this church, and now she is finding comfort with her Lord.

Survivors include: her children and their spouses: her grand-children and their spouses: and her great grandchildren

-Karl & Marilyn Fehrenkamp; grandchild Kelly & Billy Keyser & great-granddaughter Parker; grandson John Fehrenkamp

-Betty & Kim Battaglini; grandchild Nicki & Kenny Cox

-Karen & Barry Zajac; great-grandchildren Nolan and Ellie Hagan

As well as nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren of the Mikeska and Fehrenkamp families.

Visitation and funeral services will be held for Elsie as follows:

Visitation: Friday, Nov.15, 2024 4:00pm – 7:00pm Fishers of Men Lutheran Church

Funeral Service: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024 10:30am – 11:30am Fishers of Men Lutheran Church

Reception: Saturday, Nov.16, 2024 11:30am – 1:00pm Fishers of Men Lutheran Church

Gravesite: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, 2:00pm – 3:00pm Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery

Memorial Donations may be made to Fishers of Men Church in memory of Elsie. Any flowers should be sent to the church: Fishers of Men Lutheran Church, 2011 Austin Parkway, SugarLand TX 77479. Please visit their website at https://www.fishersofmen.org

For more information on funeral, obituary, memorials please see Forest Park Cemetery website

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/houston-tx/elsie-fehrenkamp-12072377.