Obit: Schiesel, Ardelle Margaret (1929 - 2005)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon 

Surnames: Schiesel, Weber, Asp

----Sources: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark County,WI.) August 17, 2005

Schiesel, Ardelle Margaret (19 Nov. 1929 - 3 Aug. 2005)

Ardelle Margaret Schiesel, age 75, a former Marshfield and Neillsville resident, died Aug. 3, 2005, at home with her daughter at her side after a year long battle with cancer.

The former Ardelle Weber was born Nov. 19, 1929 to George and Emma (Asp) Weber in Marshfield. The family resided in Hewett for several years before returning to Marshfield where they were members of St. John’s Catholic Church. On May 28, 1949 she married Donald Schiesel in Marshfield and moved to Neillsville where Don was partnered with his father, John (Huntzie) Schiesel, proprietor of the Neillsville Maytag Store. She assisted in the operation of Don’s Record Store while homemaking and later, for a brief time, operated the Knitting Nook, located within the Maytag Store. When she and Don assumed full ownership in 1964, she managed the office and accounting activities. After the sale of their store in 1972, she worked for two years at the First National Bank when they left the snow behind and moved to Arizona. She was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Neillsville and most recently St. Clements Catholic Church in Sun City, AZ.

In Arizona she worked at several locations within the old Arizona Bank system including the Scottsdale branch, the Dealer Contract Office in Mesa, and Sun City Trust in Scottsdale. After her retirement in 1991 she worked part time at the Monheit CPA firm in Peoria, AZ. She quit soon after when she assumed care taking duties for her family; a mother with Alzheimer’s disease, who lived with the couple from 1998-2000; her husband with heart disease who also was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1998; and her mother-in-law (Laniece).

Ardelle was a warm, creative, industrious, and a fun-loving person who constantly sought to learn new things. Once learned, she enjoyed teaching others her newfound skills. While in Neillsville she sewed the majority of her own and her daughter’s clothes and was rarely seen without her knitting needles. She became a certified knitting instructor teaching classes sponsored by the regional vocational school and in her spare time she belonged to bridge and knitting clubs, took art and upholstery classes, and enjoyed entertaining the couples’ many good friends. In Arizona she jumped into the computer age with both feet taking and eventually teaching computer classes through the Sun City Computer Club where she also served as secretary.

When Ardelle was diagnosed with Supraventricular Tachycardia in 1979, a non-life threatening heart arrhythmia that she suffered with for years, she organized a support group called the "Heart Group" allowing others with this ailment to gather and share information, experiences and friendship.

In 1982, Don and Ardelle built their dream house in the desert foothills near Wickenburg, AZ. Here they regularly entertained friends and relatives from across the United States. As retirement loomed they returned to the valley and eventually (in 2000) moved into Royal Oaks, a Life Care Community, where they occupied an independent apartment. Ardelle immersed herself in Royal Oaks life with the enthusiasm of a college freshman participating in a wide variety of events and activities. She chaired the Food committee and was a moderator for the local chapter of the New Horizons and 60 Minutes topical discussion groups. She was a member of the Computer Club and coordinated the Wisconsin Group parties (or parties for any other reason to celebrate!). She served as editor of the Royal Oaks newsletter for only six months before becoming ill, relishing that job more than any other. In addition, she established a small business providing clerical and graphics project assistance to Royal Oaks residents typing several interesting personal memoirs and supplying clients with many lovely cards, newsletters, and booklets. She also served as Secretary/Treasurer of the Faustina Foundation of Sun City that purchased and furnished retirement homes for the Sisters of Notre Dame. Somehow she managed to find time to begin work on her autobiography. Although incomplete, her Wisconsin years are well documented. It seemed there was no one at Royal Oaks, resident or staff, whose name she didn’t know or who didn’t know her. She thoroughly enjoyed meeting and greeting everyone and cherished the friendships and associations she formed there.

Surviving Ardelle in addition to her husband is a daughter Judith (Jude), of Madison; her mother-in-law, Laniece, of Peoria, AZ; a sister-in-law, Diane (Daniel) Weber of Milwaukee; and three nephews, Patrick, Scott, and Brian Weber and their families.

Preceding her in death were her parents; an infant brother; and two infant sons; and her brother Daniel, died in 1976.

Ardelle is sadly missed by all who knew her and she leaves close dear friends from every locale and every phase of her life. A gathering and memorial mass will be held at St. Clements Catholic Church in Sun City, AZ. A private committal service will be held at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona where she will be interred. At a later date, a Celebration of Life will be held in Marshfield, WI. Memorials can be made in Ardelle’s name to: Vista Care Hospice, 4800 N. Scottsdale Rd, Ste 5000, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 or the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory, P.O. Box 5521, Bisbee, AZ 85603-5521