Cora Bell "Peachie" (Pietzsch) Nerger

CORA BELL “PEACHIE” (PIETZSCH) NERGER, 94, of Oklahoma City, formerly of Fort Wayne, passed away Saturday, April 25, 2015. She had a strong lifelong calling to improve the lives of those around her, and through both her involvement with the community and her position in the Lutheran Church, she succeeded in this call. Born November 20, 1920, in Roscoe, TX, she was daughter to Cora Hattie (Weiss) and Amil Louis Pietzsch. A lifelong member of the Lutheran Church, she was baptized in 1920 at St. John Lutheran Church, Coryell City, TX, and confirmed on Palm Sunday, 1935, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Dallas, TX. Her father was a railroad mechanic, and he moved the family with him to Lubbock, TX, then Shreveport, LA, where she began school, before settling in Dallas, TX, where she completed her elementary education at Trinity Heights Elementary School. She continued her education through J.L. Long Junior High and Woodrow Wilson High School, from which she graduated in 1939. She was offered a scholarship to Southern Methodist University, but chose instead to work for W.J. Powell and Sons, civil engineers designing Central Expressway in Dallas. She also worked for independent oil producers in the Tower Petroleum building. She had many hobbies at this time, including roller skating and choir, and was an active member of the Lutheran Walther League. At a Walther League rally in Waco, TX, she first met the love of her life, Rev. Edwin Nerger, whom after several years of dating she accepted his proposal of marriage at Christmas, 1945. She married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Dallas, TX, on June 12, 1946. They were married for 60 years. Their honeymoon was travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Rev. Nerger had received the call of Assistant Pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. She thought the church was wonderful, and she was devoted to serving there for the rest of her life. She became a member of the Lutheran Choral Society, the Concordia Seminary Ladies’ Guild, Ladies’ Aid, Clergy Wives, and the Married Couples’ Club. She was a den mother for Boy Scouts of America Troop 16 and a charter member of the Altar Guild. She loved singing and was active in the church choir. She partook in many hobbies, including bowling and singing, and followed many creative pursuits as well, such as ceramics, sewing, pottery, china painting which she especially loved, baking, doll-making and other painting. She loved craft work of all kinds and worked in the Parkview Hospital Occupational Therapy Department. She dearly loved her family and was thrilled that in the last years of her life she was able to spend additional time with them. She is survived by her sons, Timothy Edwin (Jo Ann) Nerger, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Paul Gregory (Beth Ann) Nerger, of Tampa, Florida; grandsons, Jonathan Jeffrey, Randall Timothy, Bryan Joseph and Matthew Jacob Nerger; a great gandson, Jack Timothy Nerger, and a great granddaughter, Cora Rose Nerger. She was preceded in death by her husband Rev. Dr. Edwin Albert Nerger; and two brothers, Emil Louis and Robert Eldon Pietzsch.

Funeral services will be 11 am Saturday May 9, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1126 Barr Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana, with calling one hour prior to service. Burial will be at Concordia Cemetery Gardens, Fort Wayne. Memorial donations may be given to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Nerger Scholarship Fund. Arrangements have been entrusted to Hockemeyer & Miller Funeral Home, 6131 St. Joe Road, Fort Wayne. For online condolences please visit www.hockemeyermillerfh.com