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Cordelia ‘Della’ Maier
Mrs. Maier was 93 when she died Thursday, June 30, 2005. She was born October 23, 1911 on the family farm in Dafter, the youngest of seven children of Angus and Laura Ann (nee Vollmer) Hill. She attended the one-room schoolhouses near the farm and, as was common in those years, she completed more than one grade at a time. In 1928, at the age of 16, she was graduated from Sault High School with honors. She spent one year at the County Normal School and was certified to teach elementary school. She was still not the required 18 years of age to teach in public school, so her first teaching job was for the government, teaching on Neebish Island. The following year, she began teaching for Rudyard Township Schools and for the next few years she taught kindergarten through eighth grade in one-room school houses, including the Fractional and Dryburg schools. During this time, she met Dave Bergsma. They were married in 1935 and moved to Mackinac Island. While living on Mackinac Island, the couple had two children, Lorna and David. In 1942, they returned to farming in Rudyard and Mrs. Maier returned to teaching in the Rudyard school district, first at Carolina School and then in the Town School. During this time, she took night and summer school classes and, in 1960, she was graduated cum laude from Northern Michigan University in Marquette. Mr. Bergsma died in 1969 after 33 years of marriage. In the fall of 1970, she married Noble Graham, who had been her classmate in the one- room schoolhouse of Dafter Township. Known in the classroom first as "Miss Hill," then "Mrs. Bergsma," and then "Mrs. Graham," she retired in 1971, after 34 years of teaching. While she was married to Mr. Graham, she joined the families of Kenny, Charles, and Donald Graham and their children. Noble Graham died in 1975. In her retirement, Mrs. Maier spent winters in Winter Haven, Florida. There she met Albert Maier, whom she married in 1976. They were married almost 23 years before Mr. Maier's death in 1999. Mrs. Maier always helped on the farm, was a 4-H leader, Parent Teacher Association president, first president of the newly formed Rudyard Education Association, an elder of the Rudyard Presbyterian Church, and a Grange member. She served on the Chippewa County 4-H Council, was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel, and several square dance clubs in Michigan and Florida. She was the oldest and longest member of the Rudyard Presbyterian Church. She also was politically active on behalf of educators, both in Michigan and Florida. Mrs. Maier enjoyed oil painting, needlework, reading, crossword puzzles, playing in a kitchen band, and poetry. She and Mr. Maier were avid square dancers and they danced in Michigan, Florida, Canada, Europe, and on cruise ships. She is survived by her daughter and her family, Lorna and George Lombard of Traverse City; a son and his family, David and Ida Bergsma of Brighton; five grandchildren, Lynne Lombard, Janet Lombard McGee, Brent Bergsma, Nicole Bergsma Charder, and Jennifer Bergsma Gross; five great-grandchildren, Shealyn and Ryan McGee, Jessica and Corbin Charder, and Haileigh Gross. She is also survived by the extended families of Kenneth, Charles, and Donald Graham, and many nieces and nephews. Mrs. Maier was preceded in death by her parents; three brothers, Alex, Elmer, and Greeley Hill; three sisters, Minnie Hill, Adaline Jones, and Abigail Quintero; her husbands, Dave Bergsma, Noble Graham, and Albert Maier; several nieces and nephews, and Charles Graham. The family was assisted by Reamer Galer Funeral Home of Pickford. Services were Tuesday, July 5, at the funeral home in Pickford with the Reverend Rod Case officiating. Burial was in the Bergsma family plot in the Kinross Cemetery. Memorial donations can be made to the building fund of the Rudyard Presbyterian Church in Rudyard.
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