Charlotte Baasch

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  • Baasch Obituary
    Baasch Obituary
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Charlotte Baasch, age 98, of Lincoln, formerly of Aurora, passed away Sunday, January 15, 2022, at The Monarch in Lincoln.
Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, January 21, 2023 at the United Methodist Church in Aurora. Rev. Michelle Reed will officiate. Interment will be in the Aurora Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday at the mortuary. Memorials may be made to the Aurora United Methodist Church Music Program. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at www.higbymortuary.com.
Charlotte D. Baasch was born September 21, 1924 in Hall County, to C. Arthur and Cora A. (Ringsrud) Wisong.  She was born in the same house where her father and brother were born, on the family farm north of Wood River which was homesteaded by her grandfather in 1873.  At the age of 5, the family moved to Casper, Wyoming where she attended school through the first grade.  The family then moved back to Wood River, where she attended school through the 10th grade.  In 1940, they moved to Cairo, where she graduated with the class of 1942. When in high school she loved singing and was an excellent clarinetist. The story is told that the first time Kenneth saw Charlotte he stated, “that’s the girl I’m going to marry.”  Charlotte was 16 when she met her husband-to-be, Kenneth. They shared the same birth date, just different years.  At the age of 19, written permission to be married was required by state law.  However, the court was lenient since Kenneth was in the Army and home on leave.  With permission granted over the phone by her father, they were able to be married in Grand Island on May 29, 1944.  They enjoyed 50 Golden Years together.  In 1945, when Kenneth was on leave from Europe and couldn’t get back to Nebraska, Charlotte and another lady rode on a troup train to Muskogee, OK to be with their husbands.  They were the only ladies on this car which was carrying young men on their way for induction into the Army at Ft. Leavenworth. After his discharge from the U.S. Army in 1946, they resided in Cairo before moving to Aurora in 1948.  Two children were born to this union, a son Larry and a daughter Charlene.  After moves to Hordville and Callaway, they re-settled in Aurora in 1952 where Kenneth opened his Blacksmith & Welding Shop.  Charlotte and Kenny purchased their home on 16th Street in 1958, where she continued to reside after Kenny’s passing in 1994, moving to Lincoln in 2020.  This is a total of 62 years at the residence many Auroran’s may know as the house with the decorated goose mailbox that sported a new outfit each month.  Charlotte began a career in the Hamilton County Clerk’s Office in 1962, and became the first female County Clerk in 1982.  She retired in 1987, but continued working one day a week in the General Assistance Application Office until December of 2019. She rarely missed a day of work in all those 57 years.  The Courthouse and serving the people of the Hamilton County had a very special place in her heart.  
She was a member of the United Methodist Church where she served as Sunday School Superintendant and teacher while her children were young.  Music was always a big part of her life. She continued her love of singing by being a member of the church chancel choir for 20 years. Charlotte served many years on the Board of Directors at the Plainsmen Museum.  She volunteered many hours cataloging museum items, and loved giving tours to school children and other visitors. She learned to square dance at the age of 73, and also became active in ballroom dancing.  In 2005, she met Daryl Gompert of Burwell and they enjoyed dancing and being together as special friends for 17 years.  Her children and grandchildren were very special to her and she always felt honored when they came to visit.  She enjoyed music, crocheting, reading, dancing, and traveling with family and special friends.  She especially enjoyed her weekly beauty shop visit with Joyce for over 40 years.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Kenneth, brother Reuel, granddaughter Angela, great-grandson Jake and nephew, Joe.
Survivors include son Larry (Jane) Baasch of Omaha, daughter Charlene (Richard) Wendt of Lincoln, eight grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandchild, and three nephews.