For the last 74 years, Gertrude Strobel could often be found tucked in the corner of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, running her fingers over the keys of the church's beloved organ.
Whether it was the usual Sunday service, or a special occasion like a wedding or Christmas program, Strobel - known to the church's congregation as "Gert" - was always there to lend her musical talent and passion.
Strobel, now 96 years old - or 24, based on her Leap Day birthday, as she likes to say - recently retired as St. Paul's organist after serving for at least 74 years.
Although she became the organist officially in 1946 when she was 22 years old, Strobel would often play before then when the organist was unavailable.
She started playing at the age of 5, learning piano from her mother and sitting through practice while the other children played.
"(Music) was in me," Strobel said. "I've played all my life. It's just in my body."
Strobel never imagined she would play the organ at the church for so many years, and she said it became one of her ways of worshiping.
When Strobel started playing, the church still sang worship songs in German and even the sermon was in German, a reflection of Lohman's roots.
"I've got the old liturgy book, the original," Strobel said. "I've got every one of the hymnal books."
Over the years, Strobel learned some of the songs by memory. One of her favorites was "How Great Thou Art."
Playing the organ for St. Paul's also connected her to her late husband, Hugo Strobel. He was a member of the choir, and after practice one night, he invited her for a drink, and they went to a drive-in movie.
They had been married for 45 years when he died in 2012.
When reflecting on her many years, a memory that immediately comes to mind is a pesky visitor that once attended a service - a mouse.
"It came all the way across the pulpit, came across the front of the altar and into the choir," Strobel said, with a laugh. "Everybody's feet went straight up. It ran under the organ pedals. That was something."
Strobel also recalled, during the walk down the side aisle to the front with the choir, her high heel stuck in the floor and she walked the rest of the way to her post barefoot, shoes left behind.
"I always played in choir shoes anyways," Strobel said. "You ought to see them - they look terrible. But they worked."
No one is sure how many weddings, funerals, baptisms and other events Strobel played for over the years, including some for her family, said her nephew, Eugene Strobel.
"I didn't have you play for my wedding, but I can remember you said you'd like to just go to the wedding, not have to play for it," Eugene Strobel said to his aunt.
But Strobel loved to play, of course. After playing most of her life, Strobel played her organ for the last time Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, a few days before a fall broke her arm and hip.
She officially retired this year, after hoping for a while she might be able to come back. Although she may deserve the break now, she's not very happy about the retirement.
"You miss it," Strobel said. "You do miss it."
Today, the church will rededicate the organ in Strobel's honor. A plaque bearing her name and years of service will hang next to the organ she faithfully played for all these years.
"It's special," Strobel said, when shown the plaque Thursday, in her home just across the road from the church. "It's very, very special."
She was also presented with a framed letter from the Rev. Susan Candea, bishop with the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
"I can't even begin to count the number of lives you have touched with your music over the years - bringing comfort and joy, lifting spirits and calming fears," Candea's letter reads, in part.
Erika Gerth, a member of the worship team at St. Paul's, said Strobel is well-known in the Lohman community.
"She's such a well-loved person in our community," Gerth said. "When you can live the length of years she has lived, that's quite something."
During her 74 years, Strobel has played organ for 15 different pastors. Current pastor David Viles said they wanted to honor her for all that time she spent providing them not only with her music, but her love for the church.
"She's been a special member to everybody," Viles said. "She's baptized kids, and then their kids and their grandkids. She's been here so long that she's raised this congregation."