Grace Martha Rottmann was born September 10, 1924, and went home to the Lord Jesus on December 25, 2021, in Burnsville, NC, at age 97. She was born and raised on a farm in Marthasville, MO, seventh of eight children, until age 19, when she went to California with her brother Carl.
Grace was employed at an aircraft factory during WWII. At the end of the war, she met her first husband, Samuel Steele Shaffer, and they had 3 children. Grace was a homemaker until the mid-1970s. She worked at various jobs until being employed by the City of Los Angeles Library Department. She worked at a branch library, then on the Bookmobile, which she really loved. Grace was widowed in 1978, then met and married her second husband, Norbert Henry Stohlmann. She retired at age 60, and enjoyed life with Bert, camping, traveling, learning tole painting, and enjoying her grandchildren. She was again widowed in 2007. Grace learned to quilt at age 83 and made many quilts for herself and her grandchildren.
In 2014, Grace moved to North Carolina with her daughter and son-in-law and fell in love with the Blue Ridge Mountains town they moved to. She really loved the variety of birds, the fall leaves, and the clean, wonderful mountain air. She remained healthy and alert until her passing. Grace had a strong and enduring faith in God and her savior Jesus Christ. She loved reading the word of God and listening to Bible teachers on the TV or radio.
Grace is survived by her children Janice Lynn Jackson (John), Mary Ellen Bollman (David), and James Ray Shaffer; her 6 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; one sibling, Walter Rottmann, Jr. of Jefferson City, MO; and many nieces and nephews and their families.
Grace will be interred with Bert at the Bakersfield National Veterans Cemetery in Kern County, CA. Chapel service and burial will be March 14 in Bakersfield, CA.
