Mabel Mae "nee Emmel" Grummer

Mabel Mae (Emmel) Grummer, age 99, of Appleton, WI, died July 18th, 2025, in hospice care at Theda Care Medical Center, Neenah, WI. Her family was with her. Mabel was born August 16, 1925, to Henry and Nanny (Sindt) Emmel of Charles City, IA. Mabel grew up in a family of ten children during the depression in rural Iowa. Her father was a talented farmer with an interest in fixer-upper farmland which he improved, sold, then moved on to a new challenge. Mabel's childhood was filled with many moves and adjustments to new classmates, new neighbors, new everything. She captured the flavor of her life during this period in her book, Watermelon Summer. Of note is her depiction of pursuing an older brother with an ax, as he was apparently fond of provoking her. The fact that as she chased him, he betrayed a terrible fear, became the only thing that saved him in the story. Despite the times, Mabel was able to attend and finish high school. From there, she attended Iowa State Teacher's College, graduating in 1945 with a two-year degree in Elementary Education. Mabel met and married Arnold Grummer at college. She supported him by teaching while he attended graduate school. During these years, they had three children, Mark, Greg and Kim. Following the norms of the times, Mabel ran the household and managed family life. She was, perhaps, not entirely fulfilled as a mother and homemaker. When Arnold suffered a major heart attack in 1967, Mabel sensed economic uncertainty and returned to teaching, her true avocation. She was hired by the Hortonville School District to teach elementary school full time while she finished her four-year degree at UW-Oshkosh. She was busy and happy. The entire family was happier. In 1975, after working for three years without a contract, the Hortonville teachers went on strike. It was an unprecedented and tumultuous move that roiled the local community and gained national attention. During the course of the strike, for strategic reasons, the teachers' union felt it necessary to ask the striking teachers if any would be willing to be arrested. Mabel found herself volunteering. She promptly went out, sat down in front of a school bus of students arriving at school, and was arrested with one other woman and twenty-eight male teachers. Arnold posted bail and she was released with a police record. She wrote a story, 'The Red Coat,' to commemorate the event. Her arrest became a point of family pride and an excellent story to tell her grandchildren. She was recently honored for her participation on the 50th Anniversary of the strike by the WI Retired Teachers Association. An oral history of her experience is included in the Museum of Labor History Archives in Madison, WI. All Hortonville teachers were fired. Mabel found work in the Appleton Area School District where she taught 4th - 6th grade at several schools. She received a Golden Apple and was Runner Up for the district-wide Outstanding Teacher of the Year award for several creative initiatives and articles published in professional journals. She retired in 1991. In 1992, Mabel turned attention to the family business. She had encouraged Arnold to create a traveling educational exhibit about paper, and to develop a hand papermaking system he put together into a kit for education and home crafting. She delegated making the idea into a business to Greg and Kim. The business survived its share of market challenges and the pandemic. With Mabel's good idea, group effort, some sound advice and more good fortune than bad, Arnold Grummer's Papermaking Kits and Supplies became a national and internationally known brand over thirty years. The family business was sold to New Leaf Paper Co in Appleton, WI in 2023. Mabel was especially happy. One summer in her early teens Mabel picked beans for her father, earning a penny a pound. She turned out to be a prodigious bean picker, gathering up 2500 pounds of beans and earning $25.00. A friend who owned a Hawaiian guitar convinced Mabel to purchase one herself so they could learn and play together. She ordered it from the Sears catalog for $12, including the case. She played for a few years after that but then gave up the guitar for other pursuits. But the seed was planted. On her 90th birthday, she asked for a slide guitar. Once she picked up the guitar again, she never put it down. She became a passionate musician, participating in family jams, performing at family reunions, and offering to teach anyone how to play the lap steel guitar. She became a regular with Kathy and Howard Clark at Fiddler's Gathering in Tippecanoe, IN. She led a folk instrument workshop and jam at the local history museum, played on a streetcorner for local fundraising several times, and attended open mic at Harmony Café for years to support young musicians. Like anyone who lives to the age she did, Mabel was a fiercely independent soul. At 96 she passed her driver's test with flying colors. She took offense at the kindness of strangers who would take her shovel or rake away and finish the yard for her, or scold her for climbing a ladder. After several small, localized strokes, she slowly lost her ability to manage all the tasks for daily living. Life, for her, lost some of its bloom. She remained an avid Packer fan and paid for ESPN sports channels so she and Greg could follow the Bucks, Badgers and Brewers at home. She read the newspaper cover to cover and rarely missed her political news shows. She was not bereft of interests to occupy an active mind. Mabel fell at home on July 10, 2025. Following successful hip surgery, she was unable to regain the strength and function needed for rehab. She chose hospice care and was able to see her children and several grandchildren before she passed away. Mabel is survived by two children and their spouses, Greg Grummer and Janet Malmon, Kim and Dave Schiedermayer, and by daughter-in-law Ellen Mahan; also grandchildren Jon Schiedermayer (special friend Laura), Ellie (Sam McColley) Schiedermayer, Eddie Grummer, Winnie Grummer, Jack Grummer (special friend Pearl), granddaughter-in-law Clare VanderWoude; great-grandsons Desmond and Weston McColley, and many beloved nieces and nephews and their families. Mabel was preceded in death by her husband, Arnold Grummer, her parents and siblings, her son Mark Grummer, grandson Daniel Schiedermayer, and granddaughter-in-law Rebekah Gelinas. Special love and appreciation to Kate Wickesburg for her devoted care to Mabel at home. Special love and acknowledgement to her dear friends Nancy Shinners and Shirley Cherkasky and their families; also, to friends Joy Kubiak and Lisa Malone, Connie Roop, Darlene and Nolan Gnewuch, Sharon Stoike and Lois Simon. Gratitude and thanks to Dr. Eiben, Dr Krueger and their staff for 25+ years of attentive care. Admiration and thanks to the 6th floor staff, Dr. Su, and Dr Saeed at Theda Care Hospital Neenah, and to Dr. Christa Andrews Fike, Palliative Care. Mabel's Celebration of Life will be held at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 724 E. South River Street in Appleton on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at 10am. Visitation will be from 9am until time of service with Reverend Katherine Willis Pershey officiating. The 10am CST service will be available by livestream and can be accessed by clicking or entering the following link: https://www.uccappleton.org/livestream In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Leaven Fox Cities, the School Scholarship Fund at History Museum At The Castle, or a charity of your choice. No pressure!