Alice S. (Zarnoth) Wegner

Alice Wegner, age 86 of Greenleaf, passed away peacefully in her sleep Wednesday, April 04, 2018. She was born on June 24, 1931 to the late Albert and Elise (Spann) Zarnoth in Greenleaf. On November 6, 1948, she married Elroy Wegner, who preceded her in death on November 26, 2009.

In Alice’s own words, she was a “resourceful person, who used her life experiences to meet life’s challenges head-on.” As a child of the Great Depression, her family moved around a lot trying to find the resources to survive. She attended schools in Flintville, Abrams, Coleman, Shirley and Seymour, WI. After marrying, she and Elroy lived in De Pere as they started their family and then settled on the family home stead in Morrison, WI. Alice taught her children at an early age how every person of the family had a role in making ends meet. They farmed the lands, raised hundreds of chickens annually, and had large gardens that were harvested, canned, and used to feed to the family until the next growing season. They cooked every meal from scratch with homemade doughnuts and baked goods a daily German tradition. To this day, her chili is infamous among family and friends and her canned pickles are the most coveted gift you could receive from her.

Alice loved and appreciated the beauty of nature and could be found in her beautiful gardens anytime you dropped in. When her grandchildren were young, she opened her own greenhouse, “Grandma’s Perennials” at the farm; digging and dividing her own beloved perennial plants and sharing her love and knowledge of the flowers with passersby’s and the next generation to come. In the winter months, Alice could be found behind her sewing machine, sewing strips of old clothes, denim jeans, curtains, and bedspreads and rolling them to make woven rag rugs. For over 25 years, Alice sold her rugs at local craft shows. In the summer months she was a dealer at the flea markets, turning a profit on items she could find at garage sales and later, including her plants at garden fairs.

Equal to her love of her gardens was her love of babies. She warmly welcomed every grandchild and great-grandchild. Even in her last days, she was happy with a baby on her lap. She was the true definition of a family matriarch. Her legacy will live on through her family for many generations to come.

She is survived by her 9 children; Donna (Jim) Etling, Glen (Gail Rassmussen) Wegner, Gail (Dan) Rutter, Debbie (David) Matherly, Ellen (Jeff) Trousil, George (special friend Kathryn Stenson) Wegner, Bernice (Bill) Van Noie, Carol (Kevin) Dowd and Paul (Tina Nickasch) Wegner, 24 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. She is further survived by her sister, Pearl Bittner, sisters in law; Esther, Ardell, Loretta and Marie Zarnoth, as well as many other nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Preceding Alice in death are her son, Wayne Wegner in infancy, brothers; Leo, Ervin, Floyd, Norman and Carrie Zarnoth and sisters; Ruby Roskom, Lily Herwald and Adella Schroder.

Family and friends may gather on Saturday, April 7, 2018 from 4 to 7pm at Cotter Funeral Home, 860 N. Webster Ave. De Pere, then again on Sunday, April 8, 2018 beginning at 1pm at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church-Morrison, 7395 county Road W, Greenleaf. A funeral service will be held at 2pm Sunday at the church with Rev. Randy Ott officiating. Cotter Funeral Home is assisting the family. Online condolences can be made at www.cotterfuneralhome.com.

The family wishes to extend a special thank you to Dr. Brad Wozney and Pastor Ott for their loving care of Alice. Also, a special thank you to the Morrison-Wayside Lions club for the community support throughout the years as well as the ramp they provided for mom.

In a note found in her own handwriting she wrote, “Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that’s the way I’ll remember you. If you can only remember me with tears, don’t remember me at all.”