Theresa Elizabeth Stoltenberg was born May 29, 1910 at Carroll, Iowa to Alfred and Catherine (Tiefenthaler) Derner and she died March 11, 2008 at the Good Samaritan Center in Atkinson, Nebraska at the age of 97 years, 9 months and 12 days.

Theresa grew up on a farm near Butte, Nebraska and attended school in Butte. She was united in marriage to Frank Adam Stoltenberg on February 20, 1930 and to this union five children were born. They moved to a farm east of Naper, Nebraska where they remained until their retirement. One of her most cherished accomplishments was being a wife, they were married 66 years.

Theresa enjoyed a large garden and cooked big meals for extended family. She would often open up her house for Sunday dinners. She had cookies, fried chicken, canned pickles, and sandwiches (spam) for lunch. She always enjoyed the times spent with the children when they brought their babies home to be held. She was a grandma, great-grandma and great-great-grandma.

Upon their retirement, Frank and Theresa moved to Naper and later to Fairfax, South Dakota. They then moved to Elkhorn Meadows in 1996 in Atkinson, Nebraska. Frank died on December 11, 1996. Theresa continued to live at Elkhorn Meadows until January of 2000 when she moved to the Good Samaritan Center in Atkinson.

Theresa was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Frank; her sons, Albert and Verlin; one grandson, David; two brothers and seven sisters.

Theresa is survived by her daughter, Betty (Don) Bentz of Fairfax, SD; her son, Ken (Shirley) Stoltenberg of Atkinson, NE; her daughter, Barb (Bob) Wentz of Naper, NE; 14 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren and 7 great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 17, 2008 at 10:00 AM at the United Church of Christ in Naper, NE. Burial will be in Knollcrest Cemetery, Naper. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the Church. Clausen Funeral Home, Burke, is handling the arrangements.