Ethel Elizabeth Sojka

Passed away Friday, July 23rd at the age of 98. She was born August 3, 1911 at Chicago, Illinois to parents, Joseph Kaiser (from Austria) and Jennie Bozdech (from Czechoslovakia). Her parents became United States citizens when Ethel was eight years old. She graduated from Riverside-Brookfield High School at Bass Lake, Minnesota and attended Bemidji State Teachers College at Bemidji where she received her Elementary School Standard Certificate. Ethel began her teaching career as a teacher in a one-room school house. She loved to tell stories about her teaching job and some of the hardships that entailed. Ethel was married to Joseph "Joe" Sojka on June 12, 1937 at Itasca County, Minnesota. Joe and Ethel enjoyed fifty-four years together. They moved to Roseburg, Oregon in the late 1940's. Ethel received her Oregon Teaching Certificate from the University of Oregon on June 10, 1956. She Taught school at Rose Elementary and Fullerton Four Elementary. Even well into her nineties Ethel would cross paths with on of her students who still remembered their elementary teacher Mrs. Sojka. She retired from teaching in 1974 and begun her second career as a volunteer. She especially enjoyed volunteering at the Douglas County library (a few years ago she received a wonderful write up in the News-Review regarding her volunteering at the Library). She also volunteered as a Literacy Tutor and for ADAPT. She received The President's Volunteer Service Award in 2005 and 2006. Ethel enjoyed traveling (especially cruising on the Mississippi River), reading, old movies, card and board games, arts and crafts, and taking friends out to dinner on their special occasions. Ethel was a member of St. George's Episcopal Church and Alpha Chi Sorority. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Joe and infant son, Joseph Robert Sojka, who was born on March 24, 1946 and lived for seven days. Ethel is survived by her Church Family at St. George's and many special friends. She had already planned how she wanted celebrate her 99th birthday right down to the menu. So a Birthday Lunch Celebration will be held following her Memorial Service on Tuesday, August 10th at 11:30 a.m. at St. George's Episcopal Church (corner of Cass and Main Streets). In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Ethel's name to St. George's Episcopal Church Memorial Fund, Douglas County Library or Dorenbecker Children's Hospital.