Mildred Kirchmann, 89, of the Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community, died Saturday, November 17, 2001, at the Waverly Municipal Hospital.

She was born April 1, 1912, in Buck Creek, Iowa, the daughter of Edward and Clara Tegtmeier Heineman. Mildred graduated from Sumner High School in 1929 and Gates Business College in 1930. Mildred married Walter Kirchmann on December 21, 1930, in Sumner. They lived for a short time in Waterloo and then moved to Buck Creek, where they worked for Mildred’s uncle at the General Store. In 1938, they moved to Readlyn, where Walter was employed. In 1943, Walter went to work for John Deere Tractor Works, and they returned to Waterloo, where they lived until entering the Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly in June of 1997. In retirement years, the couple spent many wonderful times in their trailer, traveling and camping with family and friends. Walter died September 27, 1998. Mildred and Walter had been married for over 67 years.

Mildred was a member of the First Lutheran Church of Waterloo, Eastern Star Chapter 128, and the Madonna White Shrine.

She is survived by two daughters, Wanda Meyer and husband Kenneth of Sun City, Arizona, and Sharon Leraaen and husband Kenneth of Waverly, Iowa; four grandchildren; and eleven great-grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters, Ruth Bartels of Sumner, Iowa, and Esther Bartels of Estherville, Iowa.

Mildred was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; an infant son; a great-grandson, Samuel Meyer; a half-brother, James Minkel; and a stepbrother, Harold Minkel.