Lawrence R. Feller

Lawrence Roman Feller, 95, of Newburgh, passed away at home on Sunday, July 29, 2012, surrounded by family members. He was born on February 20, 1917, in Evansville, IN to Ollie and Anna (Welte) Feller.

Lawrence was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Newburgh. He enjoyed gardening, rebuilding cars, and traveling. He began working on the family farm at 11 years of age to help support his family after the death of his father. He also delivered mail by horseback and would regale his family with stories of his adventures.

Lawrence had a quick wit and often had the family laughing with his silly rhymes. For instance, he always had a rhyme on his birthday. On his 93rd he said he was “93 and feeling free!” On his 94th it was “94 and ready for more!” He often said his secret to a long marriage was “just keep your mouth shut!”

Lawrence referred to his children as the 12 apostles. Having 12 children, Lawrence learned to be very thrifty with money. He jokingly told his children that when the ice cream truck played music, that meant they were out of ice cream.

After losing the use of his left hand in an accident at Whirlpool in 1960, Lawrence didn’t dwell on his loss, only missed a few weeks of work and then continued at Whirlpool until finally retiring in 1980 after 40 years of service as a Tool and Die Maker.

Lawrence was inspiration to his children and will be dearly missed. Rest in peace Daddy.

Lawrence was preceded in death by four brothers, Lee, Jerry, Edwin, and Willis, who died in infancy; two sisters, Patra Nella Simms and Louise “Tiny” Feller; grandson, Jeffrey Kremer, and great-grandson, Jackson Kremer.

He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Clara Emma (Ochsner) at home, and twelve children, Ray (Sarah), Joyce, Mark (Debbie), Steve (Marylou) Feller; Connie (Tom) Kremer, Patricia Barron, Doris (Phil) Chrisco all of Evansville; Gary of St. Peters, MO; Betty Schnarr and Rita Feller of Newburgh; Gail (Gary) Kroeger of Boonville and Carol (Gary) Hoffman of Indianapolis, IN.

Lawrence has 31 grandchildren, Michael (Amy), Daniel, Timothy, Nikole, Chris (Melissa), Brian, Michelle, Kimberly, Danielle and Paige Feller; Katherine Hicks, Shawn (Steven) Seng, April (Jason) Downey, Andrea (Dan) Wiedemann, Matt and Tony (Nancy) Schnarr, Kelly (Bob) Miles, Nicole (Dusten) Wessel, Andy (Brandi) Kremer, Katie Kremer, Julie (Isaac) Gore, Erin (Jason) Murrell, Lesha (David) Yanez, Ryan Hoffman, Nic (Josie) Kroeger, Kayla (Rob) Stone, Lindsay and Lee Barron, Jason (Jennifer), Adam (Katherine) and Luke Rohrscheib.

Lawrence also has 28 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild and a sister, Irene Dippel of Jasper, IN.

The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to Dr. Karl Sash and also to neighbors, Warren and Teena Wright for their care and concern over the years.

A funeral mass will be held 10:00 AM Wednesday, August 1, 2012, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Newburgh, officiated by Father Tom Kessler. Friends may visit from 4:00 to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, July 31, 2012, at Alexander Newburgh Chapel.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to The Tri-State Food Bank, 800 East Michigan Street, Evansville, IN 47711, The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley, 3540 Washington Avenue, Evansville, IN 47714, or Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 8465 Keystone Crossing, Suite 235, Indianapolis, IN 46206.