Ella Mahler
Ella Mahler, 105, died July 26, 2003, at Legacy Park, Peabody, where she had been a resident since 1980.
Funeral Mass will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Parsons, with the Rosary at 12:30 p.m. Father Robert Wachter is the celebrant.
Burial will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Parsons.
Born Feb. 8, 1898, at Hanover, she had a long life that spanned three centuries. She was the daughter of Albert and Marie Dvorak Svehla Chopp, the fourth of seven children.
In 1901 the family moved from Hanover to Oklahoma in a covered wagon. They lived near Oklahoma City and Perry, Okla.
Ella attended Catholic school as a child and was raised in a family with Czech heritage. She attended some public school and later Oklahoma City Business College.
Before her marriage she worked as a telephone operator for the Pioneer Telephone Company at Perry. Because she could speak Czech, she often served as a translator.
On Jan. 26, 1920, she married Lewis Walter Mahler at Tulsa, Okla. He was a baggage man for the KATY Railroad. In 1935 the couple moved to Parsons. Lewis died in May 1972.
She continued to live there until 1980, when she moved to Westbrook Manor, Parsons. In the fall of 1980, she moved to Peabody to be closer to her sister, Stella Pachta, and niece, Margaret Vinduska.
Ella was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church of Parsons, a 25-year member of the VFW Auxiliary of Parsons, and a former member of the Flower and Garden Club at Oklahoma City. She enjoyed fancy work and did tatting and crocheting.
When she celebrated her 100th birthday at Peabody, a representative of the Railroad Retirement Board presented her with a certificate of congratulations.
Survivors include many nieces and nephews, one of which is Margaret Vinduska of rural Marion.
