Marie Abigail Louise Bodermann was born on a farm near Elma, Iowa, the oldest of five children. There she learned the womanly arts: knitting, crocheting, tatting, embroidery, sewing, canning and baking plus she acquired a green thumb for growing almost any edible plant or flower. She went to teacher's college at Cedar Falls, then moved to Mankato, Minnesota to work, where she met Arnold Rabenberg, a tall, handsome man recently returned from Europe in the US Army, and, after several months of “courting,” accepted his marriage proposal.
They moved to Aurora, Illinois where Arnold's siblings had already settled, encouraged to go there because jobs were available. Both found work. Eventually they had three daughters and Marie returned to teaching at K.D. Waldo in Aurora, while Arnie started his own business repairing TVs and other electronics. They worked hard and retired early, then settled in their “retirement” home near Portage, Wisconsin.
There they enjoyed the country life again, did much gardening, settled into a church life and square and round dancing. They also traveled the world, going to China, Australia, the USSR, and to Europe several times.
But Wisconsin was cold and Marie had a basketball injury that make winter walking on ice precarious, so she hunted for a home near their youngest daughter in Orlando. They moved to Ocoee in 1991 and enjoyed many years there of sunshine, dancing, traveling and a vibrant church community. Marie additionally joined a mall walking group, a quilting group and enjoyed lunch with friends.
Arnold passed in 2010 at age 80 which left Marie alone to enter the final years of her life. She adopted a companion, a white Jack Russell terrior mix named Rosie who kept her company and gave her life purpose. As her health declined she took up reading and continued to do needle work, but gardening became more difficult as did travel. She pushed herself and kept going until she could not any more, then chose to go on hospice care.
Marie's advice for good living would be to go to college. Work hard. Trust in God and yourself to provide your happiness. And remember, we all need love, hope and faith to build our lives on.
If desired, remember Marie by donating to the school of your choice, or Hospice of the Comforter in Altamonte Springs, Florida.