Barbara Ann (Anderson) Brandt

Barbara was born on March 11, 1924 in Balfour, IA; daughter of Dale and Mildred (Irwin) Anderson. She was the oldest of 8 children, & her siblings were forefront in her life, always.

She graduated from Tabor High School, completed Normal Teacher training and began her teaching career at Sunny Side Country School, north of Tabor. She taught there for 3 years. During WWII, Barbara worked as a book keeper at Orchard and Wilhelm in Omaha and took a bus to and from Tabor each week. Barbara married Dellis Brandt on May 19,1948 after he returned from the the war. They moved to Hamburg shortly after they were married and started farming. They had 3 children, Lana, Christine and Martin. Barbara was a homemaker while rearing their children and planted large gardens that she hoed, picked the bounty and preserved for the food cellar. She sewed most of the clothing her family wore for many years and she had beautiful flower beds that she tended. Barbara also raised chickens, hung the weekly laundry outdoors on long clotheslines, and sometimes worked at Melton rest home.

In 1967, Barbara fulfilled her lifelong dream of being a teacher when she graduated from Peru State College. She taught 3rd and 5th grades, at Hamburg Marnie Simons Elementary School for 25 years. Her first year of teaching, she taught 5 th grade in the basement of the Hamburg Public Library. Those first 3 years were among the fondest of her career. Barbara enjoyed cooking so her students learned fractions and history while making apple pies, stone soup, Taste of green and others. At home she kept cookies for her grandchildren and visitors. The radio in her kitchen was always set to KMA and when the homemakers came on air, Barbara jotted down the recipe of the day. In retirement she often copied recipes from cooking shows and even clipped recipes while living in the nursing home. Barbara had a tremendous amount of energy her whole life. Her car always had good tires and full tank of gas, so she wouldn’t miss any opportunity to go somewhere. Barbara bought several rental houses through the years and she was usually in the process of cleaning or painting a house. She was active in the United Methodist Church, The Fremont County Historical Society, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Mt. Olive Cemetery Association among many other civic groups throughout the years. She was an involved and caring member of her community.

Barbara is survived by her children: Lana Brandt (Joe Kirk) of Hamburg, Ia; Christine Brandt Reisser of Omaha, Ne, and Martin (Cindy) Brandt of Scottsbluff, Ne; four grandchildren: Kate Kingery Davidson (Bill), John Kingery (Karlye Groom); Kelvin Brandt and Tyler Brandt; six Great Grandchildren: Ashtyn Collins, Cailee Kingery, Madison Kingery, Daniel Davidson, Elizabeth Davidson, Lucy Brandt; and 2 great great grandchildren.

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