Obit: Wegner, Bernita Marian (1924 - 2009)

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 
 

Surnames: Wegner, Dux, Wasserburger, Olson, Boller, Langreck, Resong, Pace  
 

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI.) January 6, 2010 
 

Wegner, Bernita Marian (20 February 1924 - 2 January 2010) 
 

Bernita Wegner, 85, of Neillsville died Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010, at her home surrounded by her loving family. 
 

Bernita Marian Wegner was born Feb. 20, 1924, in Neillsville, the daughter of Henry Charles and Martha (Dux) Wasserburger. As a young girl, she worked summers for the Tibbett Ice and Fuel Company doing light bookkeeping and waiting on customers and then for the Neillsville Armory selling tickets for roller skating. While in high school, she sold tickets at the movie theater for Mr. Adler.  She took music lessons from Mrs. Jess Scott and enjoyed playing duets with her sister Marian, with whom she also spent many enjoyable hours riding their horses, Patsy and Dolly, and roller skating. After her Uncle Leo bet her she could not learn to play the soprano saxophone, she practiced relentlessly, going on to win a gold medal in the solo competition at the state music tournament in Eau Claire. She graduated from Neillsville High School in 1941 and then worked as a housekeeper for Fr. Weber at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.  
 

After attending Villa Maria Academy in Frontenac, MN, Bernita attended St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing in Wausau from 1942 to 1945.  Following her graduation and certification as a registered nurse in August 1945, she continued at the hospital, working in the surgery department.  She returned to Neillsville and became the public health nurse for Clark County from 1946 to 1953, obtaining her public health nursing certification in 1947 from the University of Minnesota.  
 

She was united in marriage to Carl Robert Wegner Oct. 25, 1952, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Neillsville. From 1968 to June of 1970, she served first as the acting director and later the director of nursing at the Sunset Nursing Home in Fairchild.  In 1970, when Carl and Bernita bought out business partner Kenneth Olson’s interest in the Model Cleaners and became sole proprietors, she resigned from the Sunset Nursing Home to work with her husband.  They operated the business with their family.  She returned to the Clark County Public Health Nursing Service in January of 1976, working primarily in the northeast third of the county until her retirement in 1991.   
 

She was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Chruch and served on the parish board as secretary and as the chair-person of St. Agnes’ Circle.  She was a Cub Scout den mother for eight years, Webelos leader and member of the Cub Scout Board of Directors and later the Troop Committee for the Boy Scouts of America and volunteered with numerous organizations, including the American Cancer Society (as public education chairman), The Red Cross, the Heart Fund (as city chairman) and the March of Dimes (as secretary/treasurer and county co-chairman).  Bernita was named "Woman of the Year" by the Business and Professional Women Sept. 11, 1984. She served on the zoning committee and board of appeals in Neillsville from 1986 to 1995.  She was instrumental in the formation of the Clark County Humane Society in 1987, becoming the shelter manager in 1991.  After recovering from a near-fatal automobile accident in December of 1996, she continued in service on the board until the present. 
 

She extended her gentle and compassionate heart to the animals she cared for, from the birds at her feeders and baths, to her cats and in turn to the countless kittens, cat, puppies and dogs she nurtured back to good health in foster care.  Her tenderness was especially and uniquely resonant with her beloved and seemingly part human cat, "Pumpkin."   
 

She loved to garden and grow flowers and took particular delight in giving beautiful bouquets to others.  She enjoyed helping others and being involved with youth groups.  Most of all, however, she enjoyed her family and the time she spent with them. 
 

She is survived by four sons, Charles "Chuck" (Cheri) Wegner of Neillsville, Richard "Rick" (Tammy) Wegner of Marshfield, Scott Wegner of Schofield and Thomas Wegner of Neillsville; two grandchildren, James and Eric Wegner; one sister, Marian (William) Boller of Wausau; and four nieces and two nephews. 
 

She was preceded in death by her husband, Carl Robert Wegner; her parents; and a sister, Leona (Delbert) Langreck. 
 

The Mass of Christian Burial for Bernita will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Neillsville.  The celebrant will be Fr. Woodrow H. Pace.  Music will be provided by Ronald Resong, organist, and St. Mary’s Choir.  Interment will be in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery.  Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a Rosary Service at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, 2010, at the Gesche Funeral Home in Neillsville and from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010, in the Narthex of St. Mary’s Church in Neillsville.  
 

Bernita was a devoted wife and loving mother and grandmother and will be dearly missed by all who know and love her. 
 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice. 
 

The Gesche Funeral Home of Neillsville is assisting with funeral arrangements. 
 

Online condolences may be made at www.GescheFH.com.