Obituary of Velma M Kadera

Velma May Kadera, age 89, longtime resident of rural Oxford, died on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM on Saturday, August 19, 2023, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Oxford with burial to follow at the Mt. Calvary Cemetery near Oxford.  Visitation will be on Saturday from 9:00 AM until the service. 

Velma May Heiak was born on May 20, 1934, near Fairfax, Iowa, the daughter of Charles and Caroline (Earsa) Heiak.  Following her schooling she worked for Cryovac, cleaned homes for a number of Iowa City families and also a sorority in Iowa City, The Lark Supper Club, Mercy Hospital as a patient escort and as a food sampler at Hy-Vee. 

Velma enjoyed her life as a farm wife being married to Ronald E. Kadera.  After Ronald’s passing, she remained on the farm for the rest of her life except her last few final days.  They met at a dance and were married on October 14, 1954 at St. Ludmila Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. Velma cherished being mother to her two children, grandmother to three, great-grandmother to seven, dear companion to Tom Verry and later to Paul Prusha and enjoyed many good times with other family and friends.  She was not one to sit still; she enjoyed shopping, dancing, gambling, various trips, listening to Sunday Morning Czech Party on the radio and enjoyed the music of Barefoot Becky at many dances, baking kolaches and hosting holiday meals for her family.  She enjoyed attending many ballgames and events for her grandchildren through the years. Velma was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Oxford Birthday Club.  She liked to keep busy!

She is survived by her children, Dean Kadera and Becky Bream (Don), grandchildren, Jason Bream (Alicia), Matthew Bream (Elise), and Kelly Poch (Nick); great-grandchildren, Hudson and Weston Bream, Elena and Henry Bream, Jackie, Calvin and Maxwell Poch; brother George Heiak, niece Janet Barry, along with several other nieces and nephews.  

Velma was preceded in death by her parents, husband Ronald, special friends Tom Verry and Paul Prusha; sisters Agnes Barry and Helen Maurer, a nephew, two brothers-in-law and a sister-in-law.

God rest the soul of our dear mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend.  She will be missed and remembered by many.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in her memory to either the Oxford or Tiffin First Responders or St. Mary’s Catholic Church.