Edith E. Drabek

GARNER | Edith E. Drabek, 85, of Garner. passed away Saturday, July 26, 2014, at the Concord Care Center in Garner after a brief struggle with pancreatic cancer.

Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 31st, at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Duncan with Fr. Dennis Miller officiating.

Burial will be in St. John's Catholic Cemetery in Duncan.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Duncan with a combined Rosary Society, Catholic Workman and CD of A rosary at 3:45 and a Scriptural wake service at 7 p.m.

Visitation will continue one hour prior to services at the church. Cataldo Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Edith Elaine Drabek, the daughter of William and Margaret (Jacobson) Holck, was born October 21, 1928, on a farm north of Britt. She was the third of five children, who learned at a young age about working hard and lending a helping hand. She worked at the Tip Top Cafe before graduating from Britt High School in 1947. She then worked at the Federated Clothing Store in Britt.

She was united in marriage to George Edward Drabek on October 14, 1947, at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Duncan. They lived on a farm place by Hayfield and lived in Britt until the mid-1950s, when they moved their family to Duncan.

Edith loved her family and made it her job to raise and care for her 8 children. She had a daycare while her children were young, then worked at Concord Care Center from 1974 to 1980 and Duncan Heights from 1980 to 1987. 

She enjoyed cooking, gardening, and time spent with her grandchildren. In her retirement years, she passed the time sewing quilts and doing alterations. Over the years, her strong Christian faith comforted her during the struggles that life presented.

She was a member of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, Rosary Society, Catholic Workman FCSLA, Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Garfield Hobby Club, and a Birthday Club.

Those left to cherish her memory are her eight children, Rita (Terry) Norstrud of Fernandina Beach, FL, Joyce Uhlenhake of Orlando, FL, Jeanette (Don) Priebe of Mason City, Dennis (Pat) Drabek of Garner, Vivian (Kenny) Sankey of Yulee, FL, Pauline (Tim) Lynch of Britt, Rosemary (Brent) Weaver of Garner and Denise (Rick) Sankey of Garner; twenty grandchildren; nineteen great-grandchildren, with two more arriving in the fall; one sister, Evelyn Buffington of Mason City; a sister-in-law, Peggy Holck of Ames; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, George, on July 3, 1999; parents; three brothers, Kenneth, Lloyd and Marvin; and son-in-law, Jerry Uhlenhake.

Cataldo Funeral Home, 641-923-2841 www.cataldofuneralhome.com.