Mildred Catherine Teaford, 93, formerly of Burwell and Cody, Nebraska, died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, in the Louisville Care Center at Louisville.
Mildred was born the youngest of 15 children at the ranch home west of Cody, Nebraska, on March 16, 1919, to Benjamin and Mary (Carpenter) Hale. Her parents had migrated from eastern Kentucky to southern Missouri where Ben traded their Missouri farmstead for the ranch at Cody-"sight unseen". Mildred attended country school at District 81 and graduated from Cody High School with the class of 1937.
While serving as editor of the "Cody Hi Chat" Mildred met Wallace Teaford, the young publisher of the Cody Roundup. They were married June 14, 1937. During WWII they lived in Hastings where Wally worked at the ammunition depot. Following the war they moved back to Cody, and Mildred worked at the Bank of Cody. They later purchased the Ford dealership, Cody Motor Co., where she served as the bookkeeper and was recognized by Ford for her outstanding work. They operated the business until Wallace's death in 1961 at age 43. Mildred noted in her autobiography, Bend With The Wind, that after his death, how thankful she was for her five children including three younger children. She returned to the Bank of Cody as Cashier and the dealership was managed by her son-in-law, Hank Greff. After selling the business, she moved to Rapid City, SD for one year and in 1972 moved to Burwell, NE where she worked as bookkeeper for FWT until her retirement.
Mildred was a lifetime member of the Episcopal Church, an avid bowler and bridge player. She enjoyed travel, taking her older sisters to Kentucky; visiting her son Chet in Alaska and later in Dominica where he was in the Peace Corps; also visiting daughter, Patricia, and her family while they were in Saudi Arabia. Other journeys were to Barbados, China, Jordan, Egypt, Europe and throughout the US. In the 1970's she purchased a cabin at Lake McConaughy which is still enjoyed by her children and grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband Wallace; her parents, Benjamin and Mary Hale, brothers, Tom, Charlie, Taylor, George, Everett, two infant boys; and sisters, Jennie Eley, Myrtle Belville, Bertha Lenington, Marie McClaran, Nora McClaran, Stella Jackson and one infant girl; and granddaughter, Miriam Udell.
Survivors include her children, Doug (JoAnne) Teaford of Ogallala, NE; Judy (Hank) Greff, of Ashland, NE; Greg (Deanna) Teaford of Gardendale, AL; Chet (Judith) Teaford of Houston, TX; and Patricia (Jack) Udell, of Joplin, MO; 16 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Louise Goding of Hastings, NE; and Beverly Hale of Mead, WA; as well as many nieces, nephews, and other family.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., MST, Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012, at the United Methodist Church in Cody, Nebraska, with the Revs. Bill Williams and Mark Swanson officiating. Burial will be in Prairie Lawn Cemetery in Cody. Visitation will be from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., CST, Friday at Hitchcock Funeral Home in Burwell, Nebraska. Online condolences may be sent to dteaford@q.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials are directed to the Circle C Market and Entrepreneurial Center at Cody in care of Doug Teaford, 320 E. B St., Ogallala, NE 69153.