Alma E. Koeplin

Alma was born to Ed and Mary Thorson in Lidgerwood, North Dakota, a small farming community on a cold January day. She lived on a farm with her parents, five brothers and two sisters, until she was 18 years old when they lost the farm during the Great Depression. At 20 she married Arthur Koeplin to whom she was married for 64 years until his death in 2004. They moved to San Jose, California in June 1948 where she lived in the same house for the past 66 years. The pride and joy of her life were her 10 children: Joseph, Karen, Robert, David, Patrick, Michael, John, Mary, Kathleen, and Teresa, all brought up by the grace of God to be faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Within the family she served many roles, including being the "financier", handling all the monies, ensuring her children never went hungry or without the basic necessities of life, including a Catholic education at St. Joseph's elementary school through 8th grade. When her children were old enough she went to work in a local cannery, working the night shift so she could be available to her children during the day. This "what's wrong with work?" attitude is one of the many virtures she instilled in her children. In her later years she loved to travel, going on 15 different cruises to destinations as diverse as Alaska, the Caribbean, Norway, and in 1985 taking a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with her husband and her son Patrick. Her favorite destination was Reno, where she always seemed to win some kind of jackport, but loved to tell others she only did "average". Alma was "an amazing woman", grateful for the life she was blessed with, generous, kind, compassionate, and a great listener and advice giver. She found great joy in being a proud member of the Jesuit Mothers Association. In addition to her 10 children she was also the devoted grandmother of 15 grandchildren, and great grandmother of 25 great grandchildren.

Alma is preceded in death by her husband Arthur and her son Robert. A wake will be held at Lima Family Erickson Funeral Home, 710 Willow Street, San Jose, Ca. on Monday, October 13th, 2014 at 7:00 P.M. followed by a Funeral Mass at the Catherdral Basilica of St. Joseph 80 S. Market Street, San Jose, CA 95113 on Tuesday, October 14th at 10:00 A.M. with interment to follow at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, 490 Lincoln Street, Santa Clara, Ca. A celebration of her life will be held after the burial.