"Maxine Elizabeth Ohlendorf Balser welcomed the angels on May 23, 2009. Born February 18, 1926 to Max and Betty Conrads Ohlendorf in the home in which she grew up. Maxine lived a long and healthy life as a wife, mother, and homemaker. She was always smiling, never complaining. She helped and cared for so many people, often sacrificing her own wants and needs.

Maxine was an ever-active member of the Trinity Church of Niederwald from her own confirmation through years of teaching Sunday School and being a devoted member of the Womens' Guild. She helped with the bake sales and the Thrift Shop; and took her turn arranging the flowers and cleaning the church. When the Lockhart Savings & Loan Association opened, she served as the cashier, and as a teller. In later years, she was employed at the Lockhart Livestock Auction, where she enjoyed working and laughing with her friends. Maxine volunteered as a Pink Lady in the snack bar at the Lockhart Hospital every Monday afternoon for several years and gave her time selflessly to the PTA while her daughters were in school. She also made sure her daughters had the things she didn't have-- dance lessons, piano lessons, band participation, twirling, and sports. She had a green thumb. Her greenhouse was overflowing with plants and flowers that she had rescued, propagated, and shared with others as she did in the spring and summer with fruits and vegetables that were plentiful. Maxine shelled peas, picked berries, peaches, and plums, and made pickles to give to friends who didn't have a garden. Her coffee cake was legendary. Her family was the most important thing in her life. In addition to her daughters and their families, Maxine cared for her own parents in their golden years, as well, as some of her aunts. She always knew exactly who was in all the family pictures and how they were related and who their children were."

(Published in the Austin American-Statesman on May 27, 2009)