Lena Nagel

Lena Nagel, 92, of Berne, Indiana passed away Tuesday, January 5, 2021, at Swiss Village in Berne, Indiana.

She was born on November 10, 1928, in Berne, Indiana to the late Menno Eicher and the late Leota (Sprunger) Eicher. She was united in marriage to Conrad A. “Connie” Nagel on August 5, 1950, at First Mennonite Church in Berne and he preceded her in death on January 17, 2020.

Lena was a faithful longtime member of First Mennonite Church in Berne. She taught Sunday School and participated in the choir for many years.

She started and operated Nagel’s Catering for many years. In addition, in the fall of 1975, Lena was one of the founding members of the Edelweiss Flower Shop in downtown Berne. Lena was instrumental in the family farming operation.

Lena was a lady of many talents. She loved to cook extravagant meals, can garden produce, create flower arrangements, decorate wedding cakes, bake pies and tend to the farm record keeping. She loved the outdoors and spent many hours gardening, tending her flower beds, fishing, hunting mushrooms and trapping muskrats. Lena was also an Indiana Accredited Flower Judge and traveled throughout the state. Most importantly she didn’t just hide these God-given talents; she shared them with everyone around her. Lena and Connie shared a servant’s heart and opened their home to many different people throughout years.

She is survived by a daughter, Becky Jackson of Berne, Indiana; daughter, Julie (Joe) Adams of Berne, Indiana; sister, Nancy (Donald) Graber of Berne, Indiana; sister, Amy (Robert) Wechter of Ligonier, Indiana; four grandchildren, Seth Jackson, Elizabeth (Brandon) Fruechte, Matthew (Jesica) Adams, & Christopher (Alyssa) Adams; and eight great-grandchildren.

Lena was preceded in death by a son, Dan Nagel; sister, Rachel Schutz; and a brother, John Eicher.

A memorial service for Lena will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 9, 2021, at First Mennonite in Church with Pastor Jeff Linthicum and Pastor Jim Schwartz officiating. Due to COVID-19 precautions there will be no visitation prior to the service on Saturday. A link to view the memorial service will be available at the First Mennonite Church website http://www.firstmennonite.org .

Preferred memorials can be given to MDS (Mennonite Disaster Service), Mennonite Choral Society, or Swiss Village Samaritan Fund.

Arrangements by Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home, Yager-Kirchhofer Chapel in Berne, Indiana.