Valeria Zehr

- Jasper, Indiana

 

People of Wisdom

Name: Valeria Zehr

Parish: Member of Precious Blood Church, Jasper, for 42 years

Married, number of children: Widow of Clyston Zehr, who died in 1997, just two months before their 41st wedding anniversary; eight children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Tell me three things about yourself that defines who you are: I’m a mother, grandmother and caretaker, daughter, sister and friend with my kids.

Where and when were you born? I was born in Jasper. I had three brothers. We lived in town. My mom owned a restaurant, called The Diner, and my dad was a factory worker. He died when he was only 56 years old.

How did you meet your husband? He used to come in my mom’s restaurant, and that’s where we met.

What is an early memory of church? I remember the nuns were real strict, and we weren’t allowed to put our feet on the kneeling benches or our elbows on the pews. My brothers used to serve at Mass. One time, I couldn’t see, so I stood up on the kneeling bench to watch my brother up at the altar. Sister saw me and made me go sit in the back of church!

Who was your hero or someone you looked up to as a child? The sisters at St. Joseph School in Jasper. I thought I was going to be a nun. I used to go to communion every morning until the sisters got on me and said I should be eating breakfast instead.

Who is your hero now? My daughter, who has been battling cancer for several years. She has had to give up being in the National Guard, which she had done for 23 years. I don’t see how she can be as happy as she is, with all she has gone through. She still keeps going and stays upbeat. To me, that’s a hero, as up as she is all the time. She is so good to everybody.

What is a memory of your childhood? When St. Joseph School burned down, I cried all night. I loved to go to school. We lived just a few blocks from there, and we watched it burn down in the middle of the night. We were out of school maybe a month, and it was close to a year before our school was rebuilt. I was in the third or fourth grade.

Where was your first job? At my mom’s restaurant. I also worked the night shift at the turkey factory. I ended up going to beautician school. I was a beautician for 10 years, and then later worked at the Jasper desk factory.

What are you or have you been involved with at your parish? I used to work at the church picnics. Most of my time now is spent at home, taking care of my mother, who is 90 years old. I still try to help with the quilt chances.

What do you like most about being Catholic? I like the church and the sacraments. I also like how it is just so quiet in church, and you can sit there and think about things.

What is your favorite religious item? My rosary. I pray my rosary all the time. Also, my daughter brought me a beautiful crucifix with red rubies in it.

Have you ever experienced a miracle or God’s intervention in your life? Having all my kids healthy is a miracle to me. I had eight in 10 years: four girls and then four boys. Also, having my husband baptized before he died.

What are your memories of raising your family? With eight children, we didn’t have much money. We used to do a lot of things with our children that didn’t cost anything. On the weekends, we’d take long drives out in the country to hunt for hickory nuts, swing from vines or skip rocks on the water. It is a shame kids today don’t enjoy things like that anymore.

What are your hobbies? I like to bowl, read and watch baseball and softball. My boys and girls played ball through the years, and my one boy still plays.

What book are you reading now? I like to read mysteries.

Describe a time in your life when you were scared or had to rely on your faith: I was in a bad car wreck one time, and I thought for sure we were going to be killed. I wasn’t hurt . . . just a few scrapes. That was scary. When my mom was pregnant with my younger brother, she got very sick, and they thought she would die. I had been going to a Catholic school in Louisville, and I came home to be with her. I prayed to God that everything would turn out all right, which it did.

What’s the best advice you can give someone else? Don’t get in a rush. Take time for your family, and don’t get in a hurry growing up. I was 16 when I got married, and I didn’t know what life was about then. I always told my kids, “Stay young as long as you can. You have the rest of your life to grow up.”

People of Wisdom is sponsored by the Catholic Foundation of Southwestern Indiana, Inc. For more information, please call (800) 637-1731 or (812) 424-5536, or visit the website @ www.catholicfoundationswin.org.

This article is copyrighted and appeared in the March 18, 2005 issue of The Message and is reprinted here with the permission the Catholic Press of Evansville. For information about subscribing to The Message email them at message@evansville-diocese.org