Emma Lorraine Fredrich, 92, of Sheridan, Wyoming, passed away Sunday, June 16, 2013. She was born December 13, 1920, to Jacob and Magdalena Weishaar in Elgin, North Dakota.
Laura, as she was known to close friends and relatives, was one of eight siblings. She is survived by her brother, Raymond Weishaar of Laurel, Montana, her two daughters, Elaine Roberts and Betty Sprenger, and son-in-law, Bruce Sprenger, all of Sheridan, Wyoming. She is also survived by a granddaughter, Samantha Christensen (Sprenger) and husband, Paul, of Bismarck, North Dakota, and also by two great grandchildren, Maverick and Tristan Roberts of Thornton, Colorado. Laura was preceded in death by her lifelong husband, Albert Fredrich, who died in 1978, her infant son, James Alan, in 1954, and her grandson, Brett Alan Roberts, in March 2007.
As a young woman Laura worked in the shipyards near Portland, Oregon, during World War II as a welder. She came back to her native North Dakota to marry the "love of her life," Albert Fredrich on March 25, 1947. Together they farmed and ranched four and a half miles north of Elgin for over thirty years, when Albert died of a sudden illness. She continued to live on the farm for two more years. She then moved to Bismarck, where she enjoyed cooking and gardening and spending time with friends from church and the Senior Center. She maintained a household on her own until her late eighties when ill health would let her do it no longer. During these final years, she came to Sheridan to live with her family.
Viewing will be from 9:00am until 10:00am on Saturday, June 22, 2013 from Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home with the funeral service at 10:00am from Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Elgin, ND. Interment will follow in Zion Lutheran Cemetery. Local arrangements are with Champion Ferries Funeral Home.