Vera Sterner Infelt

Vera Infelt, well known Idaho Falls educator, youth leader, and lecturer, died Wednesday, December 6, 2006, at Mallory House, where she had resided since 2001. Residents and staff there, as well as former students and many friends, mourn her passing. Born in Ottumwa, Iowa, April 8, 1908, she later graduated from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, where she met and married James F. Infelt. Marriage took them to Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, where Jim staffed the YMCA and Vera worked in the personnel office of Stix, Bear and Fuller Department Store. They came to Idaho Falls from Beatrice, Nebraska, where Jim ran the YMCA and Vera was active in the local Episcopal Church. In Idaho Falls she worked alongside her husband as he founded the YMCA here. She created girls clubs like Gradale, Tri-Hi-Y, and Keystone, as well as helping sponsor the Youth Legislature program. She was acclaimed for developing one of the outstanding Tri-Hi-Y programs in the Pacific Northwest. Vera’s influence as a youth leader was also felt in the Girl Scouts, where she guided several troops. As a member of the American Association of University Women and the League of Women Voters, she was often called upon to give lectures. Her forte was discussion leading, which she did for study groups and Sunday School classes. She was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church, which merged into the present St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Her success as a youth leader and educator has been expressed by hundreds of former students. She was a favorite at Bonneville High School Class Reunions. In the 1950's, “Mrs. Infelt” taught at Firth High School. From 1957 to 1973, she taught world history and Latin at Bonneville High School. There she also advised the Latin Club and the Girls’ Federation. The appearance of her students in togas to promote the Latin Club during Saturnalia and her esprit de corps at pep assemblies impressed fond memories upon those who came under her charisma. A quote from one of her lectures reveals that she was concerned with high aims and lasting values. “Is it hard to become educated? Yes. Is it fun to be educated? Yes. It gets harder and harder, but you become wiser and wiser. It takes real discipline and an ordered mind, but the purpose is worth it – for the purpose is to fall in love with life.” Retiring from teaching in 1973, Mrs. Infelt was named Teacher of the Year by the Idaho Foreign Language Teachers. Previously, Bonneville students had also bestowed this title upon her. After retirement, she worked with the Red Cross, then joined the staff of the District VII Health Department as a receptionist from 1979 to 1994. Daughter Robyn said that she was an advocate for young people her entire life. “She encouraged her students to attended college and sought scholarships for them. In her YMCA work she inspired young women to honor their gifts and talents and to aspire to excellence in their lives. Her home was a gathering place for all ages who sought intellectual and sympathetic conversation over cups of tea. Her traditional holiday parties, attended by young and old, were festive and decorative.” Pre-deceased by her husband, Jim, in 1976, Vera is survived by Robyn and her husband, Jay Gaskill, of Alameda, California, a grandson, Nathan Foreman, and a great granddaughter, Madeline, of New York City, longtime friend, Afton Bitton of Idaho Falls, and numerous friends. A Memorial Service for Vera Madeline Sterner Infelt will be held Thursday, December 14, 2006, at 2 p.m. in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 270 North Placer Avenue, with the Reverend Bruce Henne officiating. The family will greet friends Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Wood Funeral Home, 273 North Ridge Avenue, and Thursday following the services at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Idaho Falls YMCA, c/o Michelle Sorenson, 155 North Corner Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID 83402. ----------------------------------------------------- Condolences sent online:

Arlene Bell johnarbell@cableone.net Mrs. Infelt was one of the best teachers I ever had. I graduated in 1966 and took her senior world history class. It was the best. I went on to the U of Idaho and graduated with a degree in History! She made it an adventure. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. Arlene Bell CARMA MOORE BROWN Robyn, I'll never forget your wonderful mother with her sparkling black eyes (nor your father)! They played a significant part in my childhood with great music and fun. Your mom was our "Bear" leader in Brownie troup. Remember? I appreciate your friendship and their influence, and pray you feel centered in her passing. I know within me that you will see her again in a better place. I know she is at peace. Love, Carma Sandra Bills sandmay@midrivers.com Mrs. Infelt was by far the most inspirational person I have ever been associated with. She is the one who gave me courage to become the woman I am today and to have the faith that I have. She is the one who put me on the right track. She will truly be missed. God bless, Sandi Jenne' Bills Marcia (Jenne') Bernauer marjohnb@earthlink.net Robyn and Family, We are so sorry to hear about your Mother and your precious loss. It is such a great loss to all of us who had the privilege of knowing Vera. She was a dear friend to my Mother (Merle Jenne') before her passing, as well as the best teacher and advisor I have ever had. She was truly an inspiration to all of us. Robyn, when the Lord calls our loved ones home, he leaves a gift of memories in exchange. Hold on to those memories, and let them guide you during this time of sadness. All my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Marcia Jenne' Bernauer Las Vegas, NV Julie Harwood julie@onoye.com Thinking of you and Vera and am sorry that I can't be in IF for the service. Vera was a wonderful, inspirational lady who touched a lot of lives. Glad to hear you're doing better after your West Nile scare. Fondly, Julie Doug Nelson drnelson@anhs.net Dear Robyn, I read with fond memories the Family Tribute published in the Post Register honoring your dear mother. Vera was a remarkable woman who lived a full and purposeful life. Her enthusiasm for learning was likely surpassed only by the satisfaction she appeared to receive in teaching and challenging others. I remember feeling cared about as a person not just as a student. Vera was delightfully direct, robust and honest in her communications although sometimes I wondered if she was "baiting" me to provoke a little more independent thought. I remember the candles on her Christmas tree, how welcome I felt in her home and how much she seemed to care about people and ideas. I think of her often. God bless, Doug Nelson Carma Nelson pinewood@cableone.net Robyn, I am sorry for your loss, but know 'mom' is much happier. What a great lady she was, I am grateful to have known her. I am glad you are doing better and will see you this week. Love Carm Susanne Nielsen Infelt's were our neighbors around the corner for many years and they were always so kind. I remember many happy summer afternoons picking raspberries in her patch while Vera 'watched' me out the window . . . I'm sure she didn't mind. What a contribution she made to Idaho Falls, and to all the community! Our sympathies to Robyn, Jay, and all Vera's friends. Susanne (Roberts) Nielsen Steve Garn I met this Great Gregarious woman when I was a freshman at Bonneville High School. We lived in fear of not having our assignment done and that she would call on us to recite Latin. We had great parties. My Condolences Steve Nancy Smith [ginandreg@yahoo.com] The first time I ever met Vera was at a meeting of Episcopal women where she was the speaker. I was very impressed with her enthusiasm and dedication to her faith. I'm sure she has inspired many people and it was a pleasure to have known her. Please accept my sincere sympathies on her death. Nancy Smith Bob Polk I have known Vera since joining St. John's (now St. Luke's) and she was always a pillar of the community and of our church family. I was thankful for her presence and especially for her prayers when my son Matthew was critically hurt. It is a celebration of her life, not mourning I feel for an exceptional woman who made a difference in the world for her being. Thanks be to God for Vera . . . . charlotte butikofer argyle cargyle@weber.edu Mrs. Infelt (Vera) was an inspiration to me as a teacher. I had her for three years of Latin and World History. I will never forget the first day of class when she jumped on top of her desk and began an oration by Plato. I loved her from that moment on. I have tried stopping by the house on 16th for many years now in hopes of chatting with her, but no one ever answered the door. I ended up majoring in history because of her influence, and went on to work in higher education. She was a wonderful teacher and person, and I am sad to here of her passing. Her life meant a great many things to many people. I am glad I was fortunate enough to be one!!! Rae Nelson raekaynelson@comcast.net Dear Robin and family, What a glorious celebration to remember all the fantastic times and efforts Vera put into the lives of so many young people . . . I for one will always have her as a cornerstone to my moral and spirtual growth. I will not be able to join you in the celebration of Vera's long and productive time on Mother Earth Thursday, as I now live in the Portland Oregon area. Please give my love and cares to all our friends that come together on Thursday. Robin, I am thining of you and how fortunate you were to have your mother in your life for so many years . . . Well, be happy, be safe, be thankful . . . Rae Kay (Hosie) Nelson Phyllis A. Ker fifiphyl@msn.com To this day, I still have a love of learning, and especially history. All because one extraordinary human being and teacher, brought history alive for me and showed me its relevance. I mourn the loss of a wonderful person and teacher, and in her name and her husbands, have made a donation to the IF Goodfellows Fund. Please convey my sympathy to Afton Bitton, who sustaining the loss of her friend and her neice also in the same season, must surely have an aching heart. How wonderful to have known them both. Sincerely, Phyllis Ashment Ker Dean Edwards dabizkit4729@aol.com In 1958, I was a student at Bonneville High School taking Latin and World History. Mrs Infelt changed my life forever starting at the YMCA in 1956 until graduation. My sincere condolences to you! I will allways remember her in my prayers and thoughts. Lyle Nelson inyr2525@msn.com Mrs. Infelt was very inspirational to many of her students. I was taught that there was much to learn, and credit her Senior World History class in 1972-73 for my lifetime curiosity and love of politics. Lyle Nelson L. Scott Wolfley scott.wolfley@ge.com Wednesday, December 13, 2006 Robyn and family, I was so very sorry to hear of Vera's passing. It’s still hard for me to grasp. She was my teacher but I still loved her as “Mrs. Infelt” long after I graduated from Bonneville High School in 1971. She was such an important part of my life for so long that it doesn’t seem possible she is gone, that I can no longer stop in to see her and continue to enjoy the lifelong friendship and dialogue on life and learning that she started back when I first met her as a sophomore in her Modern European History class. I was delighted to return to her classroom again as a senior in her Senior World History class, and still remember my last day of high school in her room. I was ready to graduate but hated to see the last day of her class come to an end. It still seems like yesterday. She picked up a pen and wrote in my yearbook, “Always remember that all life and all learning are one.” Then she gave me a big hug and told me never to forget that. I haven’t. I have cherished that page in my yearbook through the years since - it is the only reason I still know where the book is. She was by far my favorite teacher in high school and no college or graduate professor ever even came close. She was the best. She will never know what a huge impact she had on my life, both in high school and in the years that followed. She made me think. She made me laugh. She made me better. She was so enthusiastic that I didn’t always notice how effectively I was being inspired to thirst after learning itself. She made me love ancient Greece, Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, the might of ancient Rome, and the glory of ancient Egypt. She brought them to life. They still live, thanks entirely to her. I cannot to this day see a picture of the Acropolis without thinking fondly of Mrs. Infelt. I still remember her one-soldier charge of the Roman army as she thundered around the room, taking our breath away with her loud war cry and sword in hand. It was ferocious. It was not to be missed. I will also never forget her impassioned description of the beauty and majesty of the Parthenon. I still remember how angry she was when she returned to Idaho from seeing it herself and told us bitterly that there was a Coke can on the steps of the Parthenon. Nor will I forget her discussion one day in class about which is more real, the idea of a chair OR a particular chair - a physical manifestation of the idea of a chair that you can sit on, but which will eventually break and decay. “Which is more real?” she demanded. Another day she asked me pointblank the timeless question (that was new to me) about whether there is really any sound in the forest if a tree falls but there is no human ear to hear it. I was a little startled by the question but made the mistake of buying time to think about it by wondering out loud if it really mattered. She glared at me for a moment, looked around the room at the rest of the class, pointed her finger at me, and declared loudly, “You, sir, are a PRAGMATIST.” It was unnerving. It is still unnerving, she could be a formidable force. I have often wondered since if being a pragmatist was a good thing or a bad thing. I didn’t ask that day. Maybe one day I will get my courage up and ask her. The only thing I know for sure is that she will remember. And that was a huge part of her wonderful magic, she remembered so many things about so many of us for so long. I love her for it, even my very small part of her large, unselfish life that made such a big difference to me and to those around her. I treasure the time I was blessed to spend with her in the years that unfolded and slipped away. What a rare treat it was to have dinner with her and Jim at 179 East 16th Street, or just chat in her living room or on the porch in the summer. Even now every once in awhile I find myself taking a slow detour past her house to gaze out the car window and remember fondly those days gone by. Sometimes we talked when I visited, sometimes I pulled weeds. It didn’t really matter – it was always time well spent. I like to think I never really checked out of her class. Her class was really life. No other teacher ever made such an impact on my life. At this time of year I always remember sitting under the old hanging rows of lights in her classroom in the old high school as the light bars swayed slowly back and forth, groaning under the weight of all the festive, great smelling REAL pine branches she would hang on them at Christmas. Sometimes we feared they were about to come crashing down. They never did, of course, but she always created a warm, wonderful spirit in her classroom. Or anywhere else she went. There are so many moments she etched in time in my memory, but not just for me but for all who knew and loved and learned from her. Not so long ago I went to visit her at Mallory House. When I arrived, a friend was reading to her. My favorite teacher was still excited by ideas and learning. It warmed my heart and brought a tear to my eye. Truly, as she taught me so well so long ago, all life and all learning really are one. And yet again I was delighted to learn from her as we talked about great things and old times. How I will miss her. She was truly one of a kind. How I wish I could have one last chance to tell her. Instead, I will tell you. May God be with you and your family in this moment of sorrow and reverence and rejoicing in her extraordinary life. L. Scott Wolfley 8346 W. Eastman Pl. Lakewood, CO 80227 Andy LeBoeuf LeBoeufA@cox.net I just wanted to let you know how important the one year I had Mrs. Infelt as a Senior World History teacher in 1971/2 has been to my entire life. She opened my eyes to the world and taught me to take advantage of the oportunities as they came. And more importantly she inspired me to succeed. I owe her more than you can ever imagine. Thank-you for sharing her with me for that short period of time. CMD A.W. LeBoeuf USN (ret) 955 Camino Real South Virginia Beach, VA Judy Maxfield I am so saddened to learn of your mother. . . I was in one of her senior world history classes . . . what an amazing lady . . . and full of life and laughter . . . she touched so many lives. Please know I care and express my most sincere thoughts of sympathy to all of you. Judy Maxfield Charmaine Lindsay Dear Robyn, I am not sure that you remember me -- it was our car that your dad drove when you entered Willamette University all those many years ago. Your father spent some time with us before taking the train back to Idaho Falls. I am one of the women mentored by your mother during my high school days at Idaho Falls High School in Tri-Hi-Y. What an amazing woman! The quotation in the obituary that you shared with the reporter captured her mission. All of us who had the opportunities to learn from her know what it is to be a woman and to use our talents -- she gave us all to believe that we indeed were talented and capable. I still have some of her writings which I often share. I also have a copy of "The Prophet" in which she wrote a message to me. And, I have a teapot in the Franciscan Desert Rose pattern which she gave me and which inspired me to begin my collection. Each time I use it, which is often, the memories return. From time to time I would send her yearly messages and in the past couple she responded -- last year through Afton. I was addressing our yearly message to her when I received a copy of the obituary from Neva Wright Nalder. Each time I read it the sense of loss is overwhelming. I last saw your mother at our 50th high school reunion in 1997. I felt nurtured and loved by her as in the past, even though our time together at that event was brief. My last relative died a few years after and I have no occasion to visit Idaho Falls. Your mother was very dear to me. I am sad knowing that she is no longer a part of our world. I send love to you and your family, Robyn. Charmaine