Obit: Wigstadt, Grace Lanora #2 (1913 - 2002)

Contact: Ken Wood
Email: woodi1999@yahoo.com

Surnames: Wigstadt, Case, Baumgartner, Harris, Penn

----Sources: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood Co., Wis.) Saturday, October 26, 2002; Page A4

Wigstadt, Grace Lanora #2 (20 Nov. 1913 - 24 Oct. 2002)

Grace Wigstadt

Dorchester--Grace Wigstadt, 88, Dorchester, died Thursday, October 24, 2002, at the residence of her daughter in Spencer.

Funeral services for Grace will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Salem United Methodist Church in Dorchester, Wis. Rev. Irving Case will offciate and burial will be in the Dorchester Memorial Cemetery.

Visitation with the family and friends will be from 11 a.m. until service time at 2 p.m. Monday at the church. Serving as pallbearers will be Robin, Todd, Mark, Aaron and Daniel Baumgartner and Ben (BJ) and Adam Wigstadt.

Maurina Funeral Home of Dorchester is assisting the family with the arrangements.

Grace Lanora Harris was born Nov. 20, 1913, in Medford, the daughter of Fred and Mabel (Penn) Harris. She was a 1931 graduate of Medford High School and worked in Eau Claire, Minneapolis and Bakersfield, Calif. Grace and Louis Wigstadt exchanged wedding vows on June 23, 1941, at the Little White Church in Dorchester, Wis. Together they farmed in the town of Mayville for 38 years and with retirement moved to reside in the village of Dorchester in 1979.

Grace was an active member of the Salem United Methodist Church since 1941, serving in many offices including Sunday School superintendent and treasurer for the Methodist Women's group for over 45 years until this day. She also was the church historian for many years. Grace belonged to the Hill Top Homemakers Club, Dorchester Senior Citizens, Dorchester Park Board and her Bible study group. She taught knitting for five years with the Holton 4-H Club and also teaching the evening knitting class at Colby, Wis. High School.

Grace also volunteered her time at the Continental Nursing Home in Abbotsford and was a volunteer leader in Farmers Union. She loved to write poems and won the Golden Poets Award from "World of Poetry" in 1989. In 1978, Grace was the first coordinator for the Dorchester Nutrition Center and Meals on Wheels, working over 15 years, retiring at age 80 years.

As a young girl, Grace enjoyed flowers, and her home and yard were always corloful in spring, siummer and fall.

She will be dearly missed by her loving family; daughter, Dorothy Baumgartner of Spencer; son Dan (Donna) Wigstadt of Dorchester; five grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren; sister Ethel Vieth of Dorchester; brother John Harris of Janesville; and many friends.

Preceded in death by her husband, Louis Wigstadt in 1968; daughter , Linda Lou in 1971; grandson Matthew Wigstadt in 1991; her parents, three sisters and two brothers.

God's Garden

God looked around His garden and He found an empty place. He then looked down upon this earth and saw your tired face. He put His arms around you, and lifted you to rest; God's garden must be beautiful, He only takes the best. He knew that you were in pain, He knew that you would never get well on earth again. So He closed your weary eyelids, and whispered, "Peace be thine." It broke our hearts to lose you, but you did not go alone; for part of us went with you, the day God called you home.