Sara Rothe Fohn, 106, of D’Hanis died on Oct. 24, 2016, in Castroville. She was born on Sept. 21, 1910, in D’Hanis in her family’s home to Agatha (Reily) and Henry C. Rothe. She was the third of four daughters, all of whom preceded her in death. After attending a Catholic school in D’Hanis, she graduated high school in 1928 at Our Lady of The Lake in San Antonio. She also attended college there, obtaining a teaching certificate. The family says Fohn and her older sister Josie taught in the two-room Seco School north of D’Hanis. They taught eight primary grades and performed additional duties, such as dealing with snakes, skunks and rats, and building a fire in the wood stove on cold days. When the Great Depression caused layoffs of county school staff, Fohn worked as an operator for the local D’Hanis phone system. She married Wilfred Joseph Fohn on Sept. 19, 1940 in D’Hanis. The couple lived in Uvalde, where he worked as an insurance agent. The family says she was a member of the St. Mary’s Church choir, Altar Society, and music club; and a charter member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an honorary academic society for educators. Upon his retirement in 1969, the couple purchased her family home in D’Hanis. Fohn lived there until she entered a retirement home, some years after her husband’s death. According to the family, as a mom and homemaker, she applied her teaching talent to her sons, instructing them in religion, tutoring most academic subjects and also teaching them manners, correct pronunciation, and discipline when they needed it. The family says she could also flash some serious carpentry skills, which she learned from her father; once, when the family moved and a wooden table wouldn’t fit in the new kitchen, she sawed off a portion of each end and converted it into a drop-leaf table. According to the family, she grew up a tomboy, driving her father to his ranch north of D’Hanis – first in a horse-drawn buggy, later in a car. She knew how to shoot a rifle and a shotgun, and could cook and bake on a gas or electric stove, a wood fire or even a fireplace. Growing up with Irish and German grandparents, Fohn learned to communicate in English, German and Spanish. The family says she was a talented singer, and an accomplished musician who composed a musical piece for piano which she could be coaxed to play. She was a resource for genealogists and historians; had a unique grasp of kinship and could tell how one person is related to another; and could tell stories of the early 20th Century well into her 90s and beyond. She wore frontier garb on the Seco School float in the D’Hanis Sesquicentennial parade in 1999. The following year, she celebrated her 90th birthday at the old Rothe & Koch store (now a nutrition center) in D’Hanis by taking a few good swipes at a piñata. She was preceded in death by her husband on Sept. 8, 1995, and by three sisters, Josie Rothe Finger, Ethel Rothe, and Lucy Rothe. She is survived by four sons, Nick Fohn and wife, Shirley, of Uvalde, Louis Fohn and wife, Loretta, of Wall, Gerald Fohn and wife, Dolores, of San Angelo, and Joe Fohn and wife, Rosanne, of San Antonio; 13 grandchildren, Julie Mize and husband, Allen, Barry Fohn and wife, Lisa, Jeana Cates and husband, Wes, Jonet Fohn, LeAnne Bills and husband, John, Laurie Fohn and husband, Chris Peterson, Lynda Fohn and husband, Bill Curtin, Doug Fohn and wife, Shannon, Stephen Fohn and wife, Polly, Matthew Fohn and wife, Erin, Molly Fohn, Andrew Fohn, Brian Fohn, and Joanna Fohn; 18 great-grandchildren, Madelynn Mize, Laurynn Mize, Reily Mize, Avery Fohn, Keaton Fohn, Jennifer Cates, Sheridan Cates, Gwynneth Cates, Trevor Bills, Sara Bills, Elle Peterson, Emma Peterson, Ensley Peterson, Hadley Curtin, Harper Curtin, Adeline Fohn, Patrick Fohn, Will Fohn; and numerous nieces and nephews, including Chris Finger and wife, Deborah, of San Antonio, and their children, Michael Finger and Bobby Finger, and Valerie Finger Welsh and husband, Austin, and their son, George Welsh. Visitation was held on Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Guinn-Horger Funeral Home in Hondo. A rosary was recited on Saturday at 9:30 a.m, followed by a mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church in D’Hanis. Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery in D’Hanis. Memorial donations may be made to Holy Cross Building Fund, Holy Cross Church, 310 FM 2200, D’Hanis, TX, 78850, or the charity of one’s choice.
