Aberdeen - Eva Ester Alice Loomis, 98, of Aberdeen died Friday, March 17, 2006, at the Aberdeen Living Center. Memorial services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 23 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 214 Seventh Ave. S.W., Aberdeen, with Rev. Brian Idt officiating. Eulogists will be her sons, Roland Loomis and Pastor Roger Loomis. Burial of cremains will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens under the direction of Miller-Huebl Funeral Home, 1111 S. Main St., Aberdeen. Visitation will be one hour before the service at the church. In lieu of flowers or cash memorials, the family requests donations be made to the organization of your choice in memory of Eva. Eva Ester Alice Mews was born to William and Anna (Hasse) Mews at Odessa, Minn., on May 29, 1907. After graduating from Odessa High School in 1926, she moved to Aberdeen and graduated from Aberdeen Business College. She was employed at Ward Owsley Candy Company and then the Freeman Bain Company. She moved to Minneapolis, Minn., for two years, returned to Aberdeen and married Victor Loomis in 1929. They took their honeymoon to Minneapolis in an open cockpit double wing Eagle Rock airplane. The trip made the headlines of the Aberdeen American News and was covered by the Minneapolis Tribune. During her early marriage, Eva was employed at Burnette & Lowe Insurance Agency until they started a family in 1930. She raised her family during a depression, dust bowl and World War II. In early 1943, the family moved to Sacramento, Calif., where Victor trained Army Air Corps pilots. The family returned to Aberdeen in late 1943. Eva was an active member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church from 1926 until she took up residence at the Aberdeen Living Center in June of 2005. She was active in church functions including Ladies Aid, Publicity Circle, choir and was a Sunday school teacher. Eva joined the Grey Ladies in 1959 and was an active member for 42 years and was also a member of RSVP. She was a Den Mother for the Cub Scouts and was selected as South Dakota Senior Snow Queen for 2005. Eva had four great loves: the Lord, her husband, her children and her church. Her loving kind and generous character will be missed by her family and friends. She is survived by her sons, Roland (Carla) Loomis of Menlo Park, Calif., and Pastor Roger Loomis of Aberdeen; her daughter, Karen Loomis Jessen of Colorado Springs, Colo.; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Eva was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Victor; her son, Reverend Richard Loomis; and eight brothers and sisters. Honorary urn bearers will be Eva's grandchildren: Kenneth Loomis, Kimberly Costanza, Michael Loomis, Jennifer Loomis and Kristi Brookshire.
Published in the Aberdeen News on 3/22/2006.