A funeral Mass for Vera Ilene Orf, 83, of Bowling Green was held Friday at St. Clement Catholic Church with Fr. Bill Peckman officiating. Servers included  great-nephew, Johnny Orf, great-great-niece, Jennifer Miller and Clarey Bibb. Gift bearers were grandchildren, Heather Geissert and Andrew Orf. Lecture was niece, Laura Portwood; vocalist was nephew, Gary Orf accompanied by the St. Clement Children’s Choir. A special solo was sung by granddaughter, Kayla Raufer.
Prior to funeral services a special tribute was delivered by Joseph Edwards, son-in-law on behalf of Vera’s 13 children. A second tribute written by the grandchildren was delivered by grandson, Travis Shinn.
Visitation was held Thursday at Mudd-Veach Funeral Home in Bowling Green with a prayer service at 3:30 p.m.
Mrs. Orf died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 at Lincoln County Medical Center.
She was born Oct. 13, 1926 in Laddonia the daughter of Guy and Susie Lennington Nelson. She graduated from Bowling Green High School in 1945 and worked at Stark Bros. Nurseries prior to her marriage on Nov. 8, 1947 to James Orf of Bowling Green. Together they farmed and raised 13 children.
Survivors include six daughters: Sandra Orf and Barbara Shinn of Bowling Green, Valerie Edwards of Elsberry, Shari Tullock, Troy, Paula Hester, Ottumwa, Iowa and Pamela O’Donnell of Phoenix, Ariz.; and five sons, Duane Orf and Dwight Orf of New Hartford, Jeffrey Orf and Scott Orf of Bowling Green and Aaron Orf of Columbia.
Other survivors include: 22 grandchildren, Alesha Packer, Iowa City, Iowa, Cass Shinn, Eldon; Ashley Holtsman of Holts Summit; Jafra Pearson of Houston, Texas; Tyson Geissert, Ashland; Latesha Hart, Troy; Heather Francis, Louisiana; Alaina O’Donnell of Phoenix, Ariz.; Travis Shinn of Creve Coeur; Dustin Tullock, St. Charles; Renee O’Donnell, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Jason Orf, Bowling Green; Andrew Orf, Las Vegas, Nev.; Cole Shinn, Chesterfield; Matthew Orf, Columbia; Kelly Orf, Cape Girardeau; Kayla Raufer, Bowling Green; Shane Orf, St. Charles; Brittany Orf, St. Louis; Morgan Raufer, Bowling Green; Ashlee Orf, Bowling Green; Kristen Septer, Lockridge, Iowa; one sister, Nina Drainer, Jefferson City; two brothers, Glen Nelson, New Hartford and Fred Nelson, vandalia; one nephew, John Howard Nelson, Hallsville; two daughters-in-law, Tammy Orf, New Hartford and Ellen Orf of Bowling Green; three sons-in-law, David Hester of Ottumwa, Iowa, Joe Edwards, Elsberry and Richard O’Donnell of Phoenix, Ariz.; 17 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, James Orf; two children, Ronald Dale Orf and Patricia Ilene Orf; her parents, Guy and Susie Lennington Nelson; two brothers, Ivan Nelson and Gale Nelson and two sisters, Lucy Skillman and Retha Nelson and one son-in-law, Lennie Dale Shinn.
During her lifetime Vera enjoying playing pinochle at St. Clement. She especially loved her monthly “ladies only” card club. She liked to keep us informed about who the good players were and who liked to fudge their scores. When it came to cards, she was very competitive. She wasn’t competitive though when playing Yahtzee with her 22 grandkids and would often let them win. During the warm summer months,  she loved cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals, gardening, sitting outdoors, barbecuing and attending the annual Nelson reunion. Those who knew Vera well also knew one of her greatest pleasures was a good cup of coffee, which was made even better if someone stopped by to have a cup with her. Only hours before her death, when she had her last cup she said, “that hits the spot.”
No one enjoyed holidays as much as Vera - her favorite being Halloween, which made sense because she was born on Friday the 13th and her husband’s birthday was on Halloween. She often made remarks to her children that “holidays are what makes life worth living.” As she got older and not able to decorate for all of these special events, the children knew they would receive “the summons” to get to the house and decorate per her instructions. All 13 children and James knew who the boss was at that house.
Vera wa also an active volunteer. She was a member of St. Clement Ladies Sodality where she had been chairperson for memorial dinners. In addition she was a 15-year volunteer at the senior center in Bowling Green and worked long hours during election years at the polls.
Pallbearers were Duane Orf, Aaron Orf, Jeffrey Orf, Dwight Orf, Scott Orf and Cass Shinn. Honorary pallbearers were Glen Nelson, Fred Nelson, John Howard Nelson, John Drainer, Blake Skillman and Clifford Nelson.
Memorials may be made to St. Clement Ladies Sodality and the St. Clement Cemetery Fund, c/o Mudd-Veach Funeral Home, 606 W. Main, Bowling Green, MO 63334.