Lyda Leona Balzer was the daughter of George and Martha Marie (Dittmer) Balzer. She was second eldest of nine children. She always said that she was born in "Summer Place" in Kansas and so did several of her siblings. While I have yet to locate a place with that name, I did find an early map of Sumner County, Kansas, with a large area designated "Balzer", so have listed this area as Lyda's birthplace. They had a farm, so from an early age Lyda would help her mother. As a result, she became a phenominal cook.
She met and married Ervin Rawls Fitch about 1905. They had two children: Ella Marie Fitch and Lillian Ervie Fitch. Ervin and Lyda owned and operated a general store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The work was hard, but Lyda made it look easy. When they married, Ervin was a staunch Baptist and Lyda was German Lutheran. They compromised and made the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) their spiritual home.
When the girls were grown, the family moved to Tampa, Florida. One of the jobs Lyda had there was diatitian in a rest home.
Ervin and Lyda's marriage was a rough one. They married, divorced, re-married, and finally divorced in 1935.
Lyda met and married Alva White. The couple lived in California, then Arizona. Alva worked for Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California as a carpenter until an accident caused him to retire early. This marriage lasted until Alva's death in 1972.
Lyda was loved by everyone who knew her. During her 90's, she was written up in the Sun City paper with a number of recipes. She fell at age 96 and never regained the ability to walk. Before that, she out did people 30-40 years her junior; if it hadn't been for the fall, who knows what she would have accomplished. One of her sisters lived to be 104 (2 months shy of her 105 birthday). As it was, she passed in her sleep at age 98.
Services were held in the Lundberg's Golden Door Chapel at 3 p.m. on March 11, 1983 with the Rev. Loren Ridge of Youngtown Community Church officiating.
She met and married Ervin Rawls Fitch about 1905. They had two children: Ella Marie Fitch and Lillian Ervie Fitch. Ervin and Lyda owned and operated a general store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The work was hard, but Lyda made it look easy. When they married, Ervin was a staunch Baptist and Lyda was German Lutheran. They compromised and made the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) their spiritual home.
When the girls were grown, the family moved to Tampa, Florida. One of the jobs Lyda had there was diatitian in a rest home.
Ervin and Lyda's marriage was a rough one. They married, divorced, re-married, and finally divorced in 1935.
Lyda met and married Alva White. The couple lived in California, then Arizona. Alva worked for Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California as a carpenter until an accident caused him to retire early. This marriage lasted until Alva's death in 1972.
Lyda was loved by everyone who knew her. During her 90's, she was written up in the Sun City paper with a number of recipes. She fell at age 96 and never regained the ability to walk. Before that, she out did people 30-40 years her junior; if it hadn't been for the fall, who knows what she would have accomplished. One of her sisters lived to be 104 (2 months shy of her 105 birthday). As it was, she passed in her sleep at age 98.
Services were held in the Lundberg's Golden Door Chapel at 3 p.m. on March 11, 1983 with the Rev. Loren Ridge of Youngtown Community Church officiating.
Lyda Leona Balzer was the daughter of George and Martha Marie (Dittmer) Balzer. She was second eldest of nine children. She always said that she was born in "Summer Place" in Kansas and so did several of her siblings. While I have yet to locate a place with that name, I did find an early map of Sumner County, Kansas, with a large area designated "Balzer", so have listed this area as Lyda's birthplace. They had a farm, so from an early age Lyda would help her mother. As a result, she became a phenominal cook.
She met and married Ervin Rawls Fitch about 1905. They had two children: Ella Marie Fitch and Lillian Ervie Fitch. Ervin and Lyda owned and operated a general store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The work was hard, but Lyda made it look easy. When they married, Ervin was a staunch Baptist and Lyda was German Lutheran. They compromised and made the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) their spiritual home.
When the girls were grown, the family moved to Tampa, Florida. One of the jobs Lyda had there was diatitian in a rest home.
Ervin and Lyda's marriage was a rough one. They married, divorced, re-married, and finally divorced in 1935.
Lyda met and married Alva White. The couple lived in California, then Arizona. Alva worked for Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California as a carpenter until an accident caused him to retire early. This marriage lasted until Alva's death in 1972.
Lyda was loved by everyone who knew her. During her 90's, she was written up in the Sun City paper with a number of recipes. She fell at age 96 and never regained the ability to walk. Before that, she out did people 30-40 years her junior; if it hadn't been for the fall, who knows what she would have accomplished. One of her sisters lived to be 104 (2 months shy of her 105 birthday). As it was, she passed in her sleep at age 98.
Services were held in the Lundberg's Golden Door Chapel at 3 p.m. on March 11, 1983 with the Rev. Loren Ridge of Youngtown Community Church officiating.
She met and married Ervin Rawls Fitch about 1905. They had two children: Ella Marie Fitch and Lillian Ervie Fitch. Ervin and Lyda owned and operated a general store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The work was hard, but Lyda made it look easy. When they married, Ervin was a staunch Baptist and Lyda was German Lutheran. They compromised and made the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) their spiritual home.
When the girls were grown, the family moved to Tampa, Florida. One of the jobs Lyda had there was diatitian in a rest home.
Ervin and Lyda's marriage was a rough one. They married, divorced, re-married, and finally divorced in 1935.
Lyda met and married Alva White. The couple lived in California, then Arizona. Alva worked for Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California as a carpenter until an accident caused him to retire early. This marriage lasted until Alva's death in 1972.
Lyda was loved by everyone who knew her. During her 90's, she was written up in the Sun City paper with a number of recipes. She fell at age 96 and never regained the ability to walk. Before that, she out did people 30-40 years her junior; if it hadn't been for the fall, who knows what she would have accomplished. One of her sisters lived to be 104 (2 months shy of her 105 birthday). As it was, she passed in her sleep at age 98.
Services were held in the Lundberg's Golden Door Chapel at 3 p.m. on March 11, 1983 with the Rev. Loren Ridge of Youngtown Community Church officiating.
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