Historian, community icon remembered

Ila Mae Moede almost took a different path in life; one that would have taken her away from her hometown, instead of remaining here and becoming a local historian and revered member of the Shawano community.

Ila passed away Sunday at the age of 95.
Her brother, John Hill, recalled that when Ila graduated in 1938, she had a $300 scholarship to attend what was then Oshkosh Teacher’s College.

He remembers his sister saying, “What good is a $300 scholarship if you don’t have bus money out of town?”

“So there was no college,” Hill said.

Instead, Ila went to work for the Cantwell-Peterson Clinic and later for her father’s plumbing company as a bookkeeper, where she remained until her retirement.

Her son, Ed Moede, said Ila was more vital to the company than people might realize.

“She could be very quiet, but in the background she was quite a force at making things happen,” he said.

Though she lived her life in Shawano, Ila traveled extensively, visiting 49 of the 50 states.

“The only reason she never visited Alaska was because, she said, then she’d have nothing to look forward to,” Ed said.

For all her traveling, Ila found her happiness in Shawano.

Hill said that growing up as Depression-era babies, “we were all looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Ila found it. We were always close and I will always have fond memories of Ila.”

Friends and family packed First Presbyterian Church in Shawano for Ila’s funeral services Thursday.

Ed Moede recalled that his mother was always prepared, organized and always on time, and could deliver a speech on the area’s history like a professional, even when she had doubts about how her speech would go over.

“The minute she went on, it was like a clock turned; it was just like that,” he said. “Almost like a professional entertainer.”

Jeanne Cronce knew Ila since childhood and was a neighbor for many years.

She remembered the family welcoming hers when they moved to Andrews Street.

“They opened up their arms and said, ‘Come join us,’” Cronce said.

“We grew to love Ila,” she said. “Ila became like an aunt. We’re not related by blood. We’re related by heart. Ila holds a special place in all of our hearts. She will be missed.”

Terry Hilgenberg said Ila’s family and the Hilgenbergs have known one another for 66 years.

“Ila was my Sunday school teacher, and you paid attention to Ila’s class,” he said. “She was a wonderful, wonderful lady. There are a few ladies now deceased in our community that were ladies of stature and honor, and set a table for the rest of us, and Ila was one of them.”

Ila, who was ordained as an elder in the Presbyterian church in 1975, was one of the first people who the Rev. Susan Phillips, pastor at First Presbyterian, met in the congregation when she came to Shawano 17 years ago.

Phillips said Ila was one of the first people anyone would meet when they came to First Presbyterian.

“She had questions. She wanted to know who you were, where you came from, who your family was,” Phillips said. “She wanted to get acquainted. She would welcome you, and she would remember the next time you showed up.”

Phillips also recalled that Ila was still regularly riding her bicycle around town when she arrived.

“I hope I’ll be riding a bicycle when I’m 80,” she said.

Phillips said Ila was always sharing stories.

“She was full of stories. She had so many stories in her life that they spilled out into the pages of books so other people would have stories to share and celebrate and remember. She has been a treasure in this community and this congregation,” Phillips said. “Ila is anchored in this community and gave us her heart.”

Ila authored three books on local history: “Grandma’s Footprints: A History of Shawano, Wisconsin from 1843 to 1918,” “Shawano: A Humming Good Town” and “From the Pineries to the Present.”

“Her publications were very important to the Shawano community. I hope everyone gets a chance to look at them,” said Mike Eidahl, president of the Shawano County Historical Society, where Ila was an emeritus member of the board.

“I loved Ila,” Shawano Mayor Lorna Marquardt said. “You never had to wonder what Ila was thinking, she would tell you, and she would tell it to you straight. She didn’t mince words. She was witty and charming and always had a twinkle in her eye. She loved this community and she put so many things in her books that would have been otherwise lost or forgotten. Shawano will long remember this wonderful lady.”