Thena Knight MimlerNovember 29, 1925 – April 10, 2015
Thena Mimler passed away on April 10th at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. She was 89.
Thena Louise Knight was born November 29, 1925, in Manchester, New Hampshire to Burton Wilder Knight and Gertrude Caldwell Knight. She attended the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, studying pre-medicine before marrying Arthur M. Mimler on June 12, 1946, in Manchester NH.
Mrs. Mimler spent her life traveling and living abroad as a U.S. Air Force officer’s wife. She made her home in various locales including Anchorage, Alaska; Madrid, Spain; and Caracas, Venezuela. She, along with her husband, fell in love with the Sierra Nevada foothills in the 1960s whilst stationed at Castle AFB in Atwater and purchased their ranch in Catheys Valley where they raised horses, sheep, and cattle.
Following her husband’s retirement from military life, Mrs. Mimler became a CNA and worked at the OB/GYN clinicat Castle AFB and John C. Fremont Hospital in Mariposa. She also volunteered as a First Responder as part of the Catheys Valley Volunteer Fire Department and delivered mail on the Star Route in Catheys Valley.
Mrs. Mimler devoted many years to teaching others to read through the literacy program in Mariposa. She also helped many Mexican immigrants learn English at the Community Center in Planada. In addition to her efforts with literacy, Mrs. Mimler volunteered as an ombudsman, aiding senior citizens in Mariposa County. Alongside her husband, she also spent several years volunteering for the USDA food distribution program in Mariposa.Mrs. Mimler was an avid gardener and a lover of animals. She loved to bake and share her culinary delights with her neighbors and the firefighters at the Cal Fire station in Catheys Valley. She was a past member of the Merced Horseman’s Association, the Bootjack Stompers square-dancing club, and the Mariposa Chapter of the American Red Cross.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Lt. Col. Arthur M. Mimler; her brother, Paul B. Knight; and her parents, Burton and Gertrude Knight.
Mrs. Mimler is survived by her daughter and her husband, Cathi & Mitch Boze of Catheys Valley; her daughter, Karen Mimler of Fresno; her granddaughter and her husband, Tanya & Brian Hughes of Catheys Valley; and her sister, Joan Bell of Stockton.
There will be a private burial at the Catheys Valley Cemetery. Arrangements are entrusted to Stratford Evans Funeral Home of Merced.