Agnes Bridget Wetjen

Agnes Bridget Wetjen
August 09, 1920 - May 13, 2005
Williamsburg, Iowa
Visitation: 4:00 - 8:00 P.M. May 16, 2005 at Uhlmann - Powell funeral Home
Funeral Service: 11:00 A.M. May 17, 2005 at St. Mary's Catholic church
Interment: 11:30 A.M. May 17, 2005 at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
Agnes Wetjen, 84, of Williamsburg, died Friday, May 13, 2005, at University of Iowa Hospitals, following a brief illness. Her family was at her side. The daughter of Edward and Bridget Kelly Walsh, Agnes Bridget Walsh was born Aug. 9, 1920, in the family farm home near Parnell. She attended school in Parnell and graduated from Parnell High School. She married Delmar Wetjen Feb. 10, 1942, at St. Joseph's Church, Parnell. Both Agnes and Delmar were very active in the community. While family was always first in her priorities, patriotism to her country and service to her church were close seconds. Agnes was a lifetime member of the VFW Post 8797 Ladies Auxiliary and served many years on the Iowa County Civil Service Board. She was an active member of St. Mary's Catholic Church and the Altar and Rosary Society and was a Catechism instructor for many years. She was an honorary 4-H member as well as a very active 4-H mom. She and Delmar served together on the board to build the senior citizen housing community. Agnes truly loved to help people, and this service to others carried on throughout her life. She was a true and humble Christian and a devout Catholic. Her family jokes about the many sets of rosary beads she most likely wore out. While some say behind every great man is a great woman, Agnes proved undoubtedly beside every great man is a great woman. Her marriage to Delmar was a partnership in every sense of the word-- a partnership on the farm, a partnership in raising their three children, a partnership in community service and a partnership in their love for each other. While she took on with expert ease the many daily chores and tasks of running a household, she also took on several responsibilities on the farm, helping Delmar with the livestock or driving one of the tractors. Agnes was kind and patient with the farm animals, and quite the expert at tending to her poultry. Upon delivery of the chicks, she would sit with the brood, making sure each of the thousand chicks got their first drink of water by dipping each of their beaks in the pan of water. Agnes was known for her large vegetable gardens, fruit trees and flower beds. Some of her greatest talents could be found in the kitchen. At the last minute, she could create an elaborate meal for any amount of people. There wasn't a traveling salesman or farm hand who left the farm without a full stomach and a container of leftovers. Visiting guests didn't leave the house without a few jars of canned food. Agnes was the perfect grandmother, doting on her 11 grandchildren when they came to visit and spoiling them rotten with homemade toys and clothes, special desserts named after them, elaborate birthday parties and cakes and a pumpkin patch to rival any other. Agnes never did anything in small doses. Whether it was canning thousands of pints of food for her family, raising a thousand chickens at a time or helping hundreds of people throughout her life time, she loved large, forgave much and influenced many. Sadly, Agnes spent the last decade of her life suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Not able to take care of her anymore, Delmar moved Agnes to the Williamsburg Care Center, renting an apartment a block away so that he could remain close to her. For several years, Delmar visited Agnes at the center, many times a day. As her memory continued to decline, her bright smile and kind spirit remained. Her face would light up at the sight of a child or a polka song on the radio, and she loved to hold animals and baby dolls. Often she would walk guests to the front gate at the center, thanking them for coming, inviting them to come back soon, and commenting on how she had to pull those few weeds in the flowerbed or tend to the fence they would pass while walking to the gate. After Delmar's death last November, Agnes was moved to the Alzheimer's Unit at Windmill Manor, in Coralville, where her health improved and her spirit flourished. Following a brief illness, she took a much deserved first class seat to heaven, where she joined Delmar at last. Finally and forever. Agnes is survived by her daughter Carolyn (Tom) Schwarte, Granger, Ind.; two sons, Larry (Wanda) Wetjen, Marengo, and Ron (Sheila) Wetjen, Dubuque; 11 grandchildren, Dave (Deb) Schwarte, West Lafayette, Ind.; Lisa (Chris) Runge, Washington, D.C.; Matt Schwarte, Granger Ind.; Dr. Nick (Erin) Wetjen, Mark (Nicole) Wetjen and Sean Wetjen, all Washington, D.C.; Melissa Wetjen and Amanda Wetjen, both San Diego, Ca.; Callie Wetjen and Rebecca Wetjen, both Marengo, Rachael Wetjen, Ames and fiancé Kurt Braun, Muscatine; two great-grandchildren, Coley and Owen Runge, Washington, D.C.; one brother, Ed Walsh, Ca.; three sisters-in-law, Shirley McMenomy and Irene O'Meara of Williamsburg and Eunice Elwood of Millersburg and three brother-in-laws, Eldon (Pauline), Adrian (Fern) Wetjen, all Williamsburg; and Millen (Nina) Wetjen, Minn. She was preceeded in death by her parents; three brothers Bill, Jim and John; three sisters Mary, Angelina and Bernice; three brother-in-laws Harlan and Richard Wetjen, Dean McMenomy; and her husband. Mass of a Christian Burial will be at 11:00 am on Tuesday, May 17, 2005 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Williamsburg. Fr. Joseph Roost and Fr. Dave O'Connor will officiate. Burial will be in the St. Mary's Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday, May 16, 2005 from 4 to 8 pm at the Uhlmann-Powell Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Williamsburg, where there will be a prayer service at 6:00 p.m. and a V.F.W. Ladies Auxiliary service at 7:00pm.