Magdalena H. Sell

Magdalena H. Sell          â€œbeloved mother, grandmother, and sister”

SHINGLEHOUSE, PA---Magdalena H. Sell, 85, of Shinglehouse, passed away on Sunday, November 29, 2015 in the Lakeview Senior Care and Living Center, Smethport, after a long illness.
     Born on September 29, 1930 in Aschaffenburg, Germany, she was a daughter of Heinrich and Anna Gumbel Schuppert.  In Aschaffenburg, she married Clarence H. Sell, who passed away on December 7, 1996.
     Magdalena graduated from high school in Aschaffenburg. Prior to moving to Shinglehouse in 1973, she lived in Red Hill, PA.
      A kind woman with a big heart, Magdalena arrived in this world weighing one pound, kept in a box of cotton beneath the kitchen stove, raised in war torn Germany.  She was sent out at the age of 5 to collect bits of unused coal from homes where only the chimneys were standing and at age 6 years she traveled on her own trying to get to family members in other towns.  It was a hard life for her, but she was a fighter.  In 1949 she met her husband and moved to the United States with him.  Knowing no one but her husband and her daughter, Ellen, she became friends with everyone, worked in her family’s restaurants in the Red Hill area, and raised five children.  No one loved her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews more.
      Her children celebrate their mother’s life with pride, admiration, and love.  Farewell Mom, we will always love you and respect you, and only hope we are half the person you have always been, the strong one, the fighter.
      She enjoyed the company and friendship of the Oswayo Valley Senior Center in Shinglehouse.
     Surviving are five children, Ellen Collins of Schwenksville, Kaye A. (Gary) Jordan of Shinglehouse, Suzanne J. (John) Frain of Boyertown, Doris M. (John) Hanson of Moravia, NY, and Richard A. Sell of Shinglehouse; thirteen grandchildren; fourteen great-grandchildren; two sisters, Erika Schuppert of Aschaffenburg and Maria Sowers of Pennsburg; a brother, Karl-Heinz Schuppert of Kleinostheim, Germany; a cousin, George Gumbel of Wappingers Falls, NY; a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Beatrice and John Gilbert of Pennsburg; and several nieces and nephews.
      In addition to her parents and husband, Magdalena was predeceased by a sister, Anna Marie Hugo.
      In keeping with Magdalena’s wishes, there will be no public visitation.  A private funeral service will be held at the Virgil L. Howard Funeral Home, Shinglehouse, with the Rev. Becky L. Edwards, pastor of the Shinglehouse United Methodist Church, officiating.  Burial will be in the East Sharon Cemetery, Shinglehouse.
     In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Oswayo Valley Senior Center, PO Box 671, Shinglehouse, PA 16748.