Viola Lebsack

93, of Englewood passed away peacefully with her family by her side. She is survived by her loving Husband Albert J. Lebsack, Son David Lebsack, 6 grandchildren and 10 great grand children. Visitation Friday 4-8pm. at Olinger Crown Hill 29th & Wadsworth Funeral Service Saturday at 10:00 am. Englewood First Presbyterian Church 3500 S. Logan St. Englewood.

Viola Mildred (Hoff) Lebsack

“Vi” “Grammie” “Grammie Vi”

Beloved Wife-Mother-Grandmother-Great Grandmother-Neighbor and Friend

Age 93

May 2, 1918 – April 13, 2012

Viola Mildred (Hoff) Lebsack was born May 2, 1918 to Mary and Henry Hoff on the Bein place east of Berthoud, Colorado. Vi was baptized and confirmed at the First German Congregational Church, Loveland Colorado. During her growing up years she lived and worked alongside her parents and many brothers and sisters on various farms around Berthoud, Loveland and Timnath, Colorado.

Vi met her future husband, Albert “Al” Jacob Lebsack at the First Congregational Church in Loveland, Colorado and February 26, 1939 they were joined in marriage in the church where they had met. The newlyweds moved to Denver, Colorado and eventually settled in a home they built on the 4600 block of South Pennsylvania Street in Englewood, Colorado. In 1948 Vi and Al became lifetime members of the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, Colorado. The couple raised two sons, Dennis Albert Lebsack, who pre-deceased his mother on February 7, 2001 and David Eugene Lebsack, who resides in Lakewood, Colorado.

Friday, April 13, 2012, Vi, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother neighbor and friend peacefully passed away in the very same home she and Al had built and shared together for over half a century. Al her beloved husband of 73 years was by her side and she was surrounded by other loving family and friends as well.

Vi started first grade in a one room schoolhouse the Jeffers School outside of Loveland Colorado. Somewhere in third or fourth grade a new modern day two room school with a basement was built to replace it. Vi enjoyed school very much and was disappointed that she could not complete her formal education the way she wanted. Nonetheless she persevered and incorporated learning into her life such that it was something she automatically did every single day. Learning brought her great joy and she was well known for her spelling skills, love of reading, and the great accomplishment of completing difficult crossword puzzles nearly every day of her life.

During those early years, Vi worked hard in the fields or with the livestock on all the farms they lived on, and she worked in the house as well. She helped her family haul coal and kindling into the house for the heating and cook stoves. She helped when it was butchering time, and she helped to cook meals, clean the house, wash clothes in a big tub of boiling water and scrub them on an old wash board and then helped to iron all the clothes too; this was in the days when almost all clothing and domestics required ironing before they could be worn or used. Worse yet some things like tablecloths and doilies and Sunday dresses and shirts had to be starched to get the wrinkles out of them in order to be presentable for proper use or for wearing outside the home.

Vi worked alongside her family to work the farms as well. She did many different jobs from helping to milk cows, to helping prepare the ground for planting, to plowing, harrowing, leveling the soil; blocking, thinning, hoeing and topping sugar beets, shocking grain and corn. She drove trucks, rode horses, went to town on Saturday nights with her family and attended church every Sunday. She even took guitar lessons.

Upon her marriage to Al she easily slipped into her lifelong role as a wife, a mother, a homemaker a grandmother, a neighbor and friend. Anyone that knew her knew that this was what God had called her to do. Vi and Al were always a handsome couple. Al - ever the Gentleman, and Vi his "Lady" - always impeccably dressed and they both expected manners to accompany everyone whether in their home, at work, the athletic field, shopping, at church or out and about.

When her boys were growing up Vi was active in PTA, Cub Scouts, Highlander Boys and driving her boys to and from whatever activities or athletics they were involved in at the time – and there were many! One son remembers specifically a day when he and his brother were in the back seat of the car and Vi was driving them to baseball practice. All of a sudden she profoundly announced to them both that she had been driving them back and forth to and from practices and games at the very same baseball field nearly every single day for so darn long that the car actually knew how to get there. Whereby much to the boys’ wide eye disbelief Mom abruptly took her hands from the steering wheel and flung them in the air and sure enough just like she had exclaimed -- the car continued to motor down the road all by itself. Of course it was only later (could it have been days later?) after much debriefing between themselves, the boys thought they kind of had it figured out how Mom had done that. She must have been using her knees to steer the car, Right?

Besides making a home for her husband and raising her two sons, as the sons grew up, went off to college married and started their families she and Al embraced dearly, celebrated and rejoiced the arrival of each and every grandchild and as time passed the great grandchildren as well. They loved being grandparents. But Vi and Al’s circle was larger than that. Vi and Al were known throughout their entire lives to gather up, accumulate and keep track of loved ones, nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, many, many neighbors and friends and friends of friends –whose numbers in total seem to be infinite!

Vi and Al loved many and many loved them.

Besides Vi’s devotion to, and the great pleasure and love she had for her family, she was very active in community and church activities as well as devoting time to expanding her own spiritual growth, bible study and a daily commitment to prayer.

Vi was always called upon by those suffering through a difficult time, facing a personal challenge or tragedies to have her place them on the “prayer chain.” These prayer chain requests seemed to magically trigger a massive but targeted, direct and focused movement of prayer immediately being offered to the heavens asking God and his Son to help those from whence the prayer chain request had come. The prayer chain seemed to be an unseen group of individuals whose faces names and numbers are unknown but it appeared that the group consisted of those who had made a commitment to stop whatever they were doing and immediately begin to pray for those requesting a special boost, request or intercession by the Good Lord himself. Many believe they had given witness to miracles that could be attributed to the power of the prayer chain. For those outside the inner circle of the “prayer chain” but within Vi’s circle, Vi was the “go to girl” for those requests.

Vi had many talents and loves. She was a wonderful cook and those who ever had the pleasure of tasting her cookies, pies, cakes, jams, jellies, cinnamon rolls, cabbage burgers and her many different casseroles and dishes could attest to that! Further, Vi was a very creative and talented artisan as well. She loved to crochet, quilt, hand-stitch and paint embroidery as well as trying her hand at still life painting. Among her many creations, just to name a few --one could count nine handmade quilts, crocheted Afghans for two brothers, five sisters, three nieces, six grandchildren, two sons, and many more. She embroidered dozens and dozens of tea towels and pillow cases as well as created and hand stitched wall hangings, samplers and many other items of craft, art and beauty. Over the years Vi as an active member of her church participated in the Holy Fingers Quilting group, Women’s Work, visiting shut-ins, as well as involvement in many other committees, always helping wherever and whenever she was needed.

Every year from early spring to the frost of fall, Vi and Al together nurtured, loved and shared one of the loveliest quaint flower gardens for which they were well known. For a period of time she and Al enjoyed attending the Arapahoe County Philharmonic Concerts.

And in Vi’s own words, “We love our neighborhood, lots of babies and little ones. What a joy they are coming over for hugs and cookies.”

Vi is survived by: husband Albert of the home; son and daughter-in-law David and Sarah Lebsack - Lakewood, Colorado; daughter-in-law Mary (Lebsack) Leffler - San Diego, California: six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren; Denise Lebsack and children Annamarie and EJ Wiksten - San Diego, California; Devin and Leah Lebsack and children Lexi Lebsack, Cassandra and William Crawford - Las Vegas, Nevada; Dan and Suzanne Lebsack and twins Emily and Evan Lebsack - Reno, Nevada; Tara Cline and children Tanner Cline, Trenten and Tatum Ebert - Arvada, Colorado; Barbara and Robert Mountain - Arvada, Colorado; Shaun and Ashley Lebsack - Lakewood, Colorado.

She is further survived by her Adopted Family through Jesus and close friends: Kevin and Luz Centola and children Angela, Coleman, Theresa and Monica Centola.

She was preceded in death by her eldest son, Dennis Albert Lebsack on February 7, 2001; her parents, Henry and Mary Hoff and brothers and sisters: Reuben Hoff, Elfreda Weitzel, Harry Hoff, Dorothea Hofferber, Loretta Philips, Ralph Hoff, Carolyn (Ruth) Grant and Eileen McKinney. One brother, Wilbur Hoff, Lakewood, CO survives.

Visitation is 4-8 p.m. Friday April 20, 2012 at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary and Cemetery, 7777 West 29th Ave. Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Funeral Services are 10 a.m. Saturday April 21, 2012 at First Presbyterian Church of Englewood Colorado, 3500 South Logan, Englewood, Colorado,

Following conclusion of funeral services, she will be carried with honor to her final resting place in Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, Colorado and laid to rest by her six grandchildren Denise, Devin, Dan, Tara, Barbara and Shaun.