Mae Braunstein

Aberdeen: Mae Braunstein died peacefully on May 19, 2010, just shy of her 102nd birthday. A memorial service in her honor will be held at Schriver's Memorial Mortuary and Crematory at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 3, with Pastor Deb Grismer officiating. Interment will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens at a later date.

She was born to John and Agnes (Kessler) Geffre on a farm outside of Leola on July 1, 1908. Following the death of her 35-year-old mother in 1919, she moved in with her aunt and uncle, Ann and James Frison, in Aberdeen.

During her teenage years, she taught herself to play piano and played at local silent movie theaters. Although she also worked various jobs while attending school, she still took time out for some fun, notably winning a dance contest at St. Mary's Hall with an accordion-playing partner, the “Champagne” musician, Lawrence Welk.

Mae married Anthony Braunstein in 1927 and was blessed with three children, Patricia, Jerry, and Janice. She worked as a seamstress, then worked at Combs Cafe on Main Street for many years until it closed. She then opened her own cafe, called Mae's Cafe located south of the Flame in 1958, and operated it until 1971. During that time, she managed to earn a two-year business degree from the Aberdeen School of Commerce.

She slowly built a solid business, opening promptly for hungry railroaders and delivery men who needed a good breakfast at a fair price; and closing after famished Northern State students had energized themselves for coming exams.

She had a soft spot for both populations, but especially for “impoverished” Northern State students to whom she would occasionally extend a meal, gratis, including a notable bargain she made with two brothers from Lake City, broke and hungry, carrying a “tab” for their meals with the understanding they would repay her when they graduated and gained employment. They did, justifying Mae's faith in the human condition. Her values embraced and trusted the little guy, especially those who needed help.

Mae worked briefly as a cook at the Flame and Holiday Inn before joining her daughter and son-in-law, Janice and Courtney Rott, at Helen's California Kitchen in 1976. She worked there until it closed in 1997, at the age of 89. She did some traveling to the West and East Coast to visit relatives and more recently Florida, where her son and daughter-in-law, Jerry and Norma Braunstein, reside. She lived in her home until she was 99, when she broke her hip and then moved to ManorCare where she lived until her death.

The simple things allowed Mae to enjoy more than a century of life: love of family, a subtle sense of humor, hard work, loyalty and respect for her family, friends and patrons, and a positive attitude: these were her secrets to a long life.

Mae could not have fully realized how deeply she influenced her family, by example, alone, with her independence, tenacity and strength of character. Her family, her own little world, is now a lesser place without her. Mae lived like a champion, selfless, resolute, loving, and went out like a champion, a model to be emulated by all who knew her.

Mae is survived by one son, Jerry (Norma) Braunstein, Stuart, Fla.; and one daughter, Janice Rott, Aberdeen; one sister, Helen Skinner, Anoka, Minn.; 15 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; 13 great-great-grandchildren; two half-sisters; six half-brothers; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one daughter, Patricia Hay; one grandson, Joel Rott; two brothers, Steve and George Geffre; one sister, Inez Borzage; one nephew, Marvin Geffre; and two half-brothers, Ben and Harold Geffre.

schriversmemorial.com

This obituary was originally published in the Aberdeen American News.