September 29, 1935 was the day that Hilda Detjen married Walter Luehrs at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar, Missouri.  This marriage drew my attention because when I attended Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska, there were two young men attending there from Perry County, one of them named Gerald Luehrs, and the other named Dean Detjen.  I managed to find pictures of these two in my college yearbook.

Dean spent many years in California and retired back to his hometown.  Dean operates Oldtimers Gun Supply in Farrar now.

Gerald is the son of Walter and Hilda (Detjen) Luehrs.  While at Seward, he was on the football and wrestling teams.  After graduation, he taught a few years in New York, but then got into the trucking business.  He lives in California now.  Dean and Gerald are first cousins.

The real reason these two names stick in my memory after over forty years is the fact that both of these guys played intramural softball at Seward.  And they both were pitchers.  I also played softball back in those days, and I remember I had to face both of these guys from the batter’s box.  A batter was never comfortable facing either of them.  They could fire that ball so fast that it was just a blur going past your eyes.  They were also just wild enough to make you think twice about just standing in the batter’s box.  I really don’t recall ever getting my bat on the ball.

I found Hilda’s obituary from 2008 in the Southeast Missourian.  Here is a portion of it.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Hilda L. Luehrs, 95, of Perryville died Thursday, May 22, 2008, at Perry Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation.

She was born July 7, 1912, at Farrar, Mo., daughter of Louis C. and Sarah Koenig Detjen. She and Walter H. Luehrs were married Sept. 29, 1935. He died Sept. 11, 1998.

Luehrs was a lifelong member of the Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar, Mo.

Survivors include a daughter, Gladys Wichern of St. Louis, Mo.; three sons, Clinton Luehrs of Venedy, Ill., Edgar Luehrs of Jackson and Gerald Luehrs of San Lorenzo, Calif.; 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a daughter, a sister and four brothers.