Cleora Mabel Ficken

Cleora Mabel Ficken, daughter of Louis (Wilhelm Ludwig) and Carolina (Meyer) Kramp, was born on November 21, 1925, at her family farm in rural Davenport, Nebraska.  She passed from this life on Sunday, October 31, 2021, at the Heritage Care Center in Fairbury, Nebraska, at the age of 95 years.  Cleora was baptized as an infant and confirmed on March 17, 1940, in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Kiowa, Nebraska.  Her confirmation bible verse was Psalms 37 verse 4; “Delight thyself in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”  Cleora had a deep rooted faith in God.  Her generous heart was always saving quarters for Mite boxes, putting quilts together for the Orphan Grain Train, working on baptism napkins and baking countless dozens of cookies for various church events.  She served as a long-time member of LWML and numerous bible study groups at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Davenport.

Cleora married Wilfred Ficken on September 30, 1950, at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church.  Six children were born to this union:  Martin, Roger, Larry, Paul, Lucy and Bruce.  They lived on the farm north of Oak until 1980 when they built and moved into their new home north of Davenport.

Cleora and Wilfred started Ficken Quilting, a long arm quilting business, after the kids had all graduated from high school.  Cleora continued quilting until she moved to Courtyard Terrace Assisted Living in September of 2017.  Starting off, they worked mostly on quilts for family and friends.  In time, the business grew into hundreds of quilts a year (one year stitching over 600 customer quilts) from all over the United States.  Sewing was a true passion of Cleora’s and she loved sharing her talents and advice with others.  Cleora enjoyed the friendships she made with her “quilting ladies” and always looked forward to their visits when dropping off or picking up their quilts.  When Cleora wasn’t quilting, she could be found outside in the garden or in the canning kitchen in the basement.  There was always homemade bread and homemade jam at every meal and cookies in the freezer just in case someone stopped by unannounced.

Cleora was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Wilfred; sisters, Viola (Ernst) Sorge and Laura (George) Loontjer; brother, Oscar (Wilma) Kramp; sister-in-law, Wyona Wagner; and brother-in-law, Wilbert Ficken.

Cleora is survived by her children, Martin (Connie) Ficken of Edgar, Nebraska; Roger (Debi) Ficken of Hastings, Nebraska; Larry (Lynn) Ficken of Grand Island, Nebraska; Paul of Olathe, Kansas; Lucy (Don) Wegener of Hebron, Nebraska; and Bruce (Jayne) Ficken of Davenport, Nebraska; grandchildren, great-grandchildren; brother-in-law, Howard Wagner; sister in laws, Jackie Ficken and Ellen (Allen) Bongers; and numerous nieces and nephews, other relatives, friends and caregivers.