Lois Chelmo

Lois M Chelmo succumbed to the effects of Parkinson’s Disease and entered into eternal life on June 12, 2019. Services will be 11:00 a.m., Monday, June 17, at St. Paul Lutheran Church with Rev. Larry Krueger officiating. Entombment will follow at Waco Memorial Park. Visitation will be 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Sunday, June 16, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. Lois was born March 20, 1930, on a family wheat farm in Julesberg, Colorado, to George and Violet Berges. She was the eldest of six children. Lois was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Big Spring, Nebraska, on May 25, 1930, and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Venango, Nebraska, in 1945. She recounted her farm life in an autobiography in 1999. Those memories included doing daily chores, studying by kerosene lamplight, playing “church” with her siblings on the staircase to the second floor of the farmhouse. They had very few toys, so they relied on their imagination for fun. A tornado in 1945 destroyed all the farm buildings except the house. She received her elementary education in the one-room schoolhouse in Venango, and graduated from the high school with her sister, Lorraine, and three others. Lois and Lorraine enrolled in a one-year course at Central Business College in Denver. After graduation, Lois decided to pursue a career in teaching, so she took courses at Kearney State Teachers’ College in Nebraska. While there she met her future husband, Walter Chelmo. She taught kindergarten through eighth grade in a one-room schoolhouse in western Nebraska for five years. Lois and Walter were married on July 31, 1955, and moved to Orlando, Florida, to begin his ministry by serving two churches. They later moved to Killeen before ending up in Waco. During this time, they adopted three children. She enjoyed gardening and watching the variety of birds in the yard and being a homemaker until an unexpected blessing led to her becoming a licensed childcare provider and a Registered Family Home for almost 40 years. She was affectionately called “MoMo.” She became known for her macaroni, gingerbread houses, and sliding down our backyard hill. Lois loved the Lord and the church and taught Sunday School for many years and was active in the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. She was preceded in death by her parents; a son, Kevin; and one sister, Virginia Marshall. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Walter; two daughters, Karen Chelmo, and Kellie Chelmo; and a grandson, Brayden Chelmo; three sisters, Debbie Schoenhals and husband, Dean, Marilyn Wert and Lorraine Berges; and one brother, Raymond Berges and wife, Nancy; all of Colorado; plus many nieces and nephews. She also survives in the memories of those she taught over the years in her classrooms and in her childcare business. Memorials may be made to the Lutheran Women's Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place, Ste. LO10, St. Louis MO 63105, or to St. Paul Lutheran Church LWML, Waco, or HOTACS – Heart of Texas Parkinson’s and Caregivers Support, 1257 Drake Court, Waco TX 76710. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our "Tribute Wall" at www.WHBfamily.com.