Loretta Jane Zehr Graveside Service & Celebration of Life

CROGHAN- A graveside service for Loretta Jane Zehr, 88, of High Falls Road, will be at 2:00 p.m. on Friday July 17, 2026 at Croghan Mennonite Cemetery, with A Celebration of Life Service following at 3:00 p.m. at Naumburg Mennonite Church.  She passed away on Tuesday November 12, 2025 in Tennessee while visiting her family.

Loretta was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by so many.  We look forward to gathering with family and friends to honor and celebrate her life.  If you are unable to join us in person, we would be grateful for your prayers as we gather to remember and give thanks for her life.

She is survived by three children, Lonnie Joseph Zehr; Nancy Jane Spence; and JoAnn Meador; six grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren, and more on the way; nieces, nephews and cousins.  She is predeceased by a son, Charles A. Zehr, who passed away on September 4, 1957; granddaughter, Anna Lynn Widrick, who passed away on July 6, 2025; a sister, Laveda; and two brothers, Richard and Edward Widrick.

Loretta was born on November 5, 1937 in Naumburg, NY, a daughter of the late Andrew M. and Nancy K. Leis Widrick.  On June 14, 1956, she married Joseph Paul Zehr in Beaver Falls, NY.  Together with her husband, the couple owned and operated a dairy farm, and Loretta milked their 55 Holstein cows morning and night for many years.  At the same time, she also worked in the family’s business, Zehr’s Custom Meat Cutting. The marriage later ended in divorce.  Loretta worked for Kraft Foods in Lowville for many years.  After her retirement from Kraft, Loretta cared for elderly people in their homes.

Loretta was a member of Naumburg Mennonite Church, where she enjoyed attending services, and liked to listen to a variety of church services on the radio.  She was a member of the Sassy Seniors (Red Hat Society).  Loretta loved blue grass music and enjoyed many festivals.  She loved watching people and visiting.  Loretta loved to travel and spent winters in Myrtle Beach for over 30 years.  She enjoyed the Lewis County Fair, the annual Mennonite Auction, and collecting dolls and bears.  Loretta loved the simplicity and setting of her log home and enjoyed sitting on her porches watching and feeding the birds.  She enjoyed going on shopping trips and eating meals out with friends.

Loretta was also known as “Lil Red” to her family and friends.  She loved all her grandchildren and their children.  Once she learned how to use an iPad, she would show everyone their photos.  She loved visiting with her children wherever they were and did not go one day without hearing from them.  Maribel Bo-peep was her Chihuahua, and they were inseparable.

Calling hours will be held on Saturday, November 22, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Naumburg Mennonite Church.  A funeral service and burial will be held in the spring so that Loretta’s family and friends from near and far can attend.  Contributions in her memory may be made to Naumburg Mennonite Church, PO Box 124, Castorland, NY  13620. Arrangements are with Iseneker Funeral Home, Inc., Lowville.

Condolences may be shared online at www.isenekerfuneralhome.com .

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.