Hilde S. Chalmers

Hilde Chalmers was born in Hanau, Germany on July 23, 1931, the fifth of six daughters of Jean and Therese (Strauss) Schultheis. She survived the intense Allied bombing of Hanau during WW II that destroyed 85% of her city; however, the devastation of the war prematurely ended both her study of ballet and her formal education. After the war, Hilde worked for a time for the Wester-Ebbinghaus electronics company in Hanau. Around 1949 she married Jack Eugene Akers, an American soldier stationed in Germany and returned with him to Kansas.

After the death of Mr. Akers, Hilde remarried to Billy Ray Chalmers in Coffeyville, Kansas. In 1960 the family moved to Bethany, Oklahoma, where they lived until her death.

Hilde was a long-time member of Cherokee Hills Christian Church where she worked for over thirty years in the nursery. Her many nursery graduates remember her with particular fondness for the genuine affection she showered on them. She adored children.

Hilde was predeceased by her daughter, Hellen (Akers) Bates of New Jersey. She is survived by her husband, Bill, two sons, David L. Akers and Billy Ray Chalmers, Jr., four sisters, seven grandchildren, and six grandchildren. She will be missed by all. A funeral service will be conducted at Cherokee Hills Christian Church, Northwest 65th and MacArthur, at 2:00 PM Thursday, March 1st.

Arrangements under the direction of Bill Merritt Funeral Service, Bethany, OK.