Matilda Hoffbauer of New Alsace, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at the age of 99. “Tillie” as she was known to all her friends and family, was an active member of the community and touched many lives. As a lifelong member of All Saints Parish, Tillie proudly held the honor of being the oldest parishioner. She had a passion for cooking and was favored to cater many weddings in the area. She was also the head of the kitchen for St. Paul’s church festivals and has claim to fame by developing the secret dressing recipe that is still used today. In fact, when the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote an article about Southeastern Indiana local church festivals, Tillie and her dedication to the festival fare was featured. In addition to cooking, Tillie loved to play card games, like euchre and 31, and was an avid bingo player. She followed her schedule for the week, traveling around town based on locally hosted bingo games. She was known to shut down the bingo booth at church festivals and easily played nine cards at a time, only reducing her cards to four in the last few years of her life. Everyone in Tillie’s family received a quilt which she crafted with love. She gifted them to her children and grandchildren for their weddings and her great grandchildren received baby quilts when they were born. Tillie also shared her quilts with the community as she donated them to the church picnic raffles.
Tillie had a lot of fun, but she was also a hard worker. Working on the family farm, she grew and canned the vegetables and took care of all the farm animals. She ran the egg route to Cincinnati where they would take their eggs and vegetables into the city to sell them. As a Grandma and Great-Grandma, Tillie would always have her favorite chocolate chip cookies on hand for when the grandkids stopped by.
Tillie will be deeply missed by her children Ruth Griesser of Fresco, TX, Larry (Pat) Hoffbauer of New Alsace, Paul (Nella) Hoffbauer of Guilford and Marilyn (Dick) Bower of New Alsace, 10 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband of 33 years, Joseph Hoffbauer, her parents Elizabeth and William Trabel, and son-in-law Mike Griesser.
Services for Tillie will be held on Friday, February 11, 2022 at St. Paul’s Campus, All Saints Parish, at 9788 North Dearborn Rd, Guilford, IN 47022. Rosary will begin at 9:00am with visitation from 9:15am – 11:00am. Mass of Christian Burial with Father Mahan presiding will begin at 11:00am with burial immediately following at the church cemetery. For those not able to attend, the Mass will be live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/user/aspweeklyhomily. Memorials can be made to St. Paul’s Cemetery Fund. Memorials will be taken at the visitation or can be mailed to Andres-Wuestefeld Funeral Home at 25615 State Rt. 1, Guilford, IN 47022. Family and friends are encouraged to leave condolences at www.andres-wuestefeldfh.com