To Frieda Bauldoff, happiness was digging in the dirt in her garden.

"She was someone who loved to be outside in her flower bed, digging around and making arrangements," said her daughter, Dr. Gerene Bauldoff, of Columbus, Ohio. "And she could make the most beautiful arrangements out of nothing. It was incredible."

Mrs. Bauldoff, of Meridian, died last Thursday at Butler Memorial Hospital following a brief illness. She was 92.

Born Feb. 12, 1916, in Connoquenessing Township, she was the daughter of William and Anna Setzenfandt Michael.

Mrs. Bauldoff met and married her husband, Melvin, in 1943, shortly before he left to serve in World War II. While her husband was in New Guinea and the Philippines during the war, she worked for the Army at Camp Carrabelle, Fla., and Fort Ord, Calif. She performed clerical work, which was to her advantage when keeping track of where her husband was serving.

"She knew exactly where he was during the entire war, when most people had no idea where their loved ones were," said Dr. Bauldoff.

Following the war, the Bauldoffs moved to Daytona Beach, Fla., where they bought a mobile home and moved into Mac's Trailer Park. Mr. Bauldoff served as the maintenance man for the park, and became friends with the owner. When the owner retired, he sold the park to the Bauldoffs. They owned and operated it from 1946-1951.

The Bauldoffs then returned to the area so Mr. Bauldoff could attend television repair school in Pittsburgh. He worked for a number of years as a repairman for other businesses before deciding to start his own in 1960. With a friend, the Bauldoffs owned and operated Mel-Den Appliances in Zelienople. The store remained in business until 1977, when Mr. Bauldoff sold it and retired.

Mrs. Bauldoff was a member of St. Fidelis Catholic Church in Meridian.

She a lso was a founding member of the Buttercup Garden Club.

"Both she and her mother just loved flowers, and garden clubs were really big back then," Dr. Bauldoff said. "It's a lovely social club, mainly for women." It started in the 1960s and still exists.

When she wasn't busy digging in her garden, "she was a voracious reader," said her daughter. "Especially historical books and books about former first ladies. She loved those."

Although she never went to college, Mrs. Bauldoff encouraged each of her four daughters to obtain higher education and be able to support themselves.

"She always said that if she hadn't met dad, she would have been a career woman," Dr. Bauldoff said. "She was always ahead of her time."

In addition to Dr. Bauldoff, surviving are her husband; three daughters, Corita Bauldoff, of Connoquenessing Township; Jilana (Joseph) Alfonso, of Wellington, Fla., and Michelle (Frank) Ciliberto, of Wilkes-Barre; two grandchildren, three step-grandchildren and three step-great-granddaughters.

She was preceded in death by a brother, William H. Michael Jr.; a sister, Florence Schoeffel, and two infant siblings.

Services for Mrs. Bauldoff were held Monday at St. Fidelis Catholic Church in Butler followed by entombment in the Chapel of Devotion Mausoleum at Butler County Memorial Park Cemetery.