Germaine Winter

     Germaine Winter, age 90, of St. Lucas, IA, died on December 22, 2014, at Allen Hospital in Waterloo, IA.      Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, December 27, 2014 at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in St. Lucas, IA, with Rev. Nick March presiding. Burial will be in St. Luke’s Catholic Cemetery.      Friends may call from 3:00-7:00 p.m., on Friday, December 26, 2014, and also on Saturday morning after 9:00 a.m., at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in St. Lucas, IA. There will be a rosary at 4:00 p.m., on Friday afternoon.      Germaine Philomena (Schmitt) Winter was born on May 17, 1924, on the family farm one mile west of St. Lucas, IA, the oldest of two daughters born to Nick and Margaret (Blong) Schmitt. She attended school at St. Luke’s Catholic School. On May 8, 1951, she was united in marriage to Nick Winter at St. Luke’s Catholic Church. Together they farmed with their families; first at Nick’s family farm for four years and then settling on Germaine’s family farm. She was Nick’s help-mate for over sixty years and lived all of but four years of her life on the same farm. Germaine enjoyed giving her time and talents to the St. Luke’s Parish as a member of the choir, cooking for many weddings and an active member of the Rosary Society. She made all of the hosts for masses from 1974-2005, making as many as 1200 hosts a week. She also enjoyed taking care of her chickens and supplying many people with fresh eggs for many years. She also enjoyed sewing, crafting and feeding the birds.         Germaine is survived by: her daughter, Donna Winter of Cedar Falls, IA; three granddaughters, Nikki Erickson of Waterloo, IA; Stacey Erickson of West Des Moines, IA; and Haley Erickson of Cedar Falls, IA; a brother-in-law, James Schneberger of Calmar, IA; brother-in-law, Florian (Eileen) Winter of St. Lucas, IA, and five nieces and two nephews.      Germaine was preceded in death by: her parents, Nick and Margaret (Blong) Schmitt; her husband, Nick Winter on Dec. 15, 2011; her son, Duane Winter in infancy;   great-grandson, Jadyn J. Comer; sister, Alma Schneberger; sister-in-law, Hilda (Henry) Huber; and father-in-law and mother-in-law, Peter and Anna (Kuehner) Winter.