My mother passed away this morning at the age of 76 after a long slow decline in her health. The photo above is from college and below is with her grandsons Drew and Will is from this past Thanksgiving. Her obituary is below.

Nelda Rose Danz (nee Buller) of Palatine, Illinois, for the last 35 years died January 27, 2008, at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Born May 4, 1931, in Shattuck, Oklahoma. Nelda was proceeded in death by her beloved husband Donald Winston Danz on December 20, 2003, whom she married on March 6, 1955. Nelda is survived by her daughter Donelda CarVen Danz of Carol Stream, Illinois, and Don William Danz (wife Mary) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and grandsons Drew Winston Danz and David William ("Will") Danz.

A graduate of Goltry High School, Oklahoma, Nelda received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from Oklahoma A&M College now Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater, in 1953, where she was a member and served as President of the Tau Gamma sorority. After graduating OSU, Nelda went to work for then Standard Oil International in Tulsa where she met her husband, Donald who was a geophysicist who spent a career searching for oil.

Married in 1955, the couple soon embarked on a world-wide journey together. They were transferred in 1957 to Venezuela, where they lived for four years and started a family. They spent the early 1960s in Libya, then Donald was transferred to an oil camp facility in Indonesia, while Nelda and Donelda lived in Thailand where Don was born. The next several years were spent in Mozambique, Holland and Norway, with the family returning to the United States in 1970. After two years in New Orleans, the family settled in Palatine.

An avid bowler, bridge player, craft maker and Chicago sports fan, Nelda was a dedicated wife and mother who ran a tight household while Donald was away on extended business assignments. Family was always Nelda's priority as she never missed a sports game or other activity of her children and proudly doted over her grandchildren as her health increasingly declined the past few years.

In lieu of flowers, tax deductible contributions may be sent to Palatine Park Foundation, 250 E. Wood Street, Palatine, IL 60067, for the preservation of open space and scholarships for Palatine Park District activities.