Apalona T. Kiser

Apalona T. Kiser, age 102 of Park River, North Dakota, formerly of Hoople, ND passed away peacefully Friday February 10, 2023 at the Park River Good Samaritan Center.
Apalona was born on April 24, 1920 in Wimbledon, ND, the daughter of William and Elinor (Hurtt) Schaetzel. She moved with her family to a farm near Hoople in 1924. She was confirmed in the Hoople Methodist Church and graduated from Hoople High School in 1938.  She worked at home on the farm for a year before attending Fletcher College in University Park, Iowa for one year.  She attended the Bismarck Evangelical Hospital School of Nursing, graduating as a Registered Nurse in 1943.  She was a nurse in Los Angeles, California for a time but heard nurses were needed for the World War II effort.  She volunteered and became an army nurse with the rank of Second Lieutenant, and served in the Asiatic Pacific Theatre for the rest of the war and following period. In Korea, she met her future husband, Donald L. Kiser from Urbana, Ohio.  After the war she worked in Denver, Colorado, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Connecticut.  She married Donald on December 29, 1948 in the family farmhouse near Hoople. Donald and Apalona worked part time in Ohio and part time on the farm until 1956, when they settled in North Dakota to farm full time. The couple had two children, Michael and Susan.
Donald passed away in 2006 and Apalona moved to Park River.  She entered the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Park River in 2015 and remained there for the rest of her life.  She was blessed that her sister was also a resident of the Good Sam Home for many years, and her daughter, Susan, was a nurse there.
Apalona very much loved flowers, trees, and the beautifying and maintaining of outdoor spaces, especially the family farm. She was a quiet person who was devoted to her family with whom she remained very close over the years including frequent phones calls with her son, daughter, and grandson.  She was a hard worker on the farm and possessed a lot of “old school” skills of her time. She was an avid reader of all things educational, and often got caught by her parents for reading under her bed covers so the light wouldn’t give her away when she was supposed to be sleeping.
Apalona was ahead of her time with her knowledge and use of nutrition and healthy living. She was a wonderful cook and gardener and was always concocting healthy meals and snacks for her family, including sending regular care packages to her grandson. She was an expert on restoring and refinishing old furniture and also enjoyed other crafts such as China painting. She was active in the Hoople Methodist Church and various community clubs over the years.
She was thought to be the oldest living WWII veteran in the area at the time of her death.
Apalona is survived by her son Michael (Myrna) Kiser, Ada, Minnesota, grandson, Camden O’Toole (fiancée, Melissa Byone), Honolulu, Hawaii and son-in-law Tim Johnson, Park River. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald L. Kiser, daughter, Susan Johnson, parents, William and Elinor Schaetzel, brother, Phillip Schaetzel, sister, Dorothy Doktor, and brother-in-law Walter Doktor. Susan preceded her mother in death by only 13 days.
A memorial service is planned for 2:00 PM at the Good Samaritan Center in Park River, ND on Thursday, Feb 16. Burial is planned for the spring in the Hoople City Cemetery.
The family requests that any Memorials be made to the Good Samaritan Foundation located in Park River, ND.

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