Irma Izora (Seltmann) Bodwell, 90, of Bellbrook, Ohio, died Sunday April 20, 2014 of natural causes.  She was born in Nekoma, KS on May 30, 1923 the daughter of the late Gustav and Minnie (Mohr) Seltmann.  She married Melvin "Mel" Vincent Bodwell on April 11, 1964, who preceded her in death on May 25, 1969, though she always remained Mrs. Bodwell for the remainder of her life, staying true to her lost love.

Mrs. Bodwell is survived by her two children and four step-children: daughters, Carol Marie Clegg of Kettering, OH and Anita Louise Roehrs and husband Stephen of Aiken, SC.  Step-children: Lowell Bodwell of Lompoc, CA; Keith Bodwell of Rochester, MN; Pam Bodwell of Moreno Valley, CA and Michael Bodwell of Ankeny, IA.  Also surviving are seven grandchildren: Cindy Marie Ljungren of Bellbrook, OH, Sheila Rae Piner of Kettering, OH, Laura Lea Piner of Cathedral City, CA and Kenneth Edward Piner and partner Robert Arthur D'Angelo of Arlington, VA; Matthew Paul Roehrs and wife Katherine of Anderson, SC; Philip Andrew Roehrs and wife Jessica of Saxapahaw, NC; Miriam Louise Bodie and husband Matthew of Jacksonville, FL.  Also surviving her are 10 great-grandchildren: Andrew Michael Piner and partner Susan Kay Howard of Moraine Ohio; Daniel Anthony Piner of Kettering, OH; Rebecca Elizabeth Ljungren of Washington, DC; Robert Warren Ljungren of Cincinnati, OH; Carolyn Marie and Christopher Stephen Ljungren of Bellbrook OH; Maxwell Paul, John Matthew and Lucy Victoria Roehrs of Anderson, SC; and Matthew Luca Bodie of Jacksonville, FL; and two great-grandchildren: Adriana Kai Elaine Harrison and Tyler Allen Young of Moraine, OH.

Mrs. Bodwell was preceded in death by siblings: Bert Seltmann, Alton Seltmann, Alta (Seltmann) Yeager, and Merlin "Gus" Seltmann.

A proud woman of German heritage, Mrs. Bodwell was born the daughter of a mother and father who had their own farm in Nekoma, KS that had 280 acres of wheat.  Her grandparents immigrated to the United States from Schlettau, Germany in 1868 prior to her father's birth.  Her parents had a solitary home on top of a rise on the open prairies of Kansas and she often told stories about how they were raised to know which farm animals were pets and which ones were for food as well as how one horse, Dexter, brought her brother Bert home from school through a blizzard on his back in the blinding snow.  Her father died when she was just a young girl age 11 and she carried very cherished memories of her father throughout her life.  This included one time when she rode with her father to town and he bought candy for all the children at the store.  On the car ride home in the Model T Ford he stopped to help another driver in distress and she subsequently ate all the candy while she waited and put the candy wrappers inside her hat.  She would recall the fear of punishment but when it came time to wash up for supper and she removed her hat, when the wrappers fell out and he saw what she had done, he simply chuckled.
A graduate of Campion Academy in Loveland, CO, class of 1943, she married James Clegg with whom she had her two daughters, and then they later divorced.

Early in her career she worked at Kuehl's Grocery in Lincoln, NE then at different cleaners and laundries in the area.  While there she became an expert presser of formal wear including immediate pressing of visiting minister's suits who would step into the changing room and hand out their suits for pressing, she'd press them and they would similarly be returned so they could step out freshly pressed. This skill was later put to good use while spending hours pressing her daughter's wedding gown.

After a move to Boulder, CO, she worked as a server in the dining room at the Boulder Sanitarium, in Boulder, CO where she served the wealthy people who came to the Colorado climate for health care.  That experience frequently came up when out to dinner and she reminded younger members of the family who also waited tables, that if you dropped something, others were supposed to clean up for you to save you the embarrassment.

Thereafter, she worked in both the Physical Therapy and Dietary offices of the Sanitarium during which she went to school to become an Executive Housekeeper and thereafter became the Director of Housekeeping at Boulder Memorial Hospital.

After marrying Mel Bodwell they both worked for a time with the Christian Record, a braille service, for which they did fundraising for a time in Virginia.

Subsequently, throughout the remainder of her career she served in the Adventist Health Network in executive housekeeping positions beginning as assistant executive housekeeper at Kettering Medical Center in Ohio in 1967 after which she transferred to Hinsdale Sanitarium in Illinois in 1971 where she served as executive housekeeper.  Thereafter she worked at Hackettstown Regional Medical Center in New Jersey in the mid-70s before returning to Kettering Medical Center in 1977 where she completed her career until retirement in 1988.

A life-long Seventh-day Adventist, Mrs. Bodwell, enjoyed singing alto in the church choir.  When her daughters were young in Lincoln, NE she would take them with her to choir practice at the College View Adventist Church on the campus of Union College which started her daughter's exposure to and love for choral music.  She also sang in many choirs in her different home towns finishing her choir career at Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church.  There she enjoyed many a Sabbath morning singing beneath the large organ and would frequently comment about how the organists would make the organ come to life with the sounds of some of her favorite Bach pieces or Widor's Toccata.

A lover of animals, both on the farm as a girl and later in life with her precious cats Midnight and Pumpkin, she always loved interacting with animals and enjoying their antics.  She similarly loved babies and little children and would stop everything she was doing to focus on them and depending on what they were doing would exclaim, "Oh my goodness" or "bless her heart!"
She also loved to sew and taught her daughters how to do so on an old peddle machine.  After working all day to support the family she would spend the evenings sewing dresses for her daughter's wardrobe.

A proud mother and grandmother, she was always pleased to see her family and brag about their accomplishments while also keeping top of mind her German heritage and that she was simply the daughter of a farmer who through her hard work and fortitude had risen to be an executive.

A public memorial service will be held on June 7, 2014 at 4 p.m. at the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church, 3939 Stonebridge Road, Kettering, OH 45419.  In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations in Mrs. Bodwell's name to: Christian Record Braille Foundation, 4444 South 52nd Street, Lincoln, NE 68516; Campion Academy, 300 SW 42nd Street, Loveland, CO 80537; or Spring Valley Academy 1461 E. Spring Valley Road, Centerville, OH 45458.