- Mary E. Weger, 80, Neenah, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 30, 2013. She was born October 6, 1932, in Appleton, daughter of Harold Douglas and Ann Martha (Schiebler) Douglas. Mary Ellen was the oldest girl of five siblings and like her mother was the main helper in the family.
Mary Ellen attended Saint Joseph grade school for nine years and graduated from Appleton High School in 1950. She was employed by Kimberly Clark Corp. for four years as a billing clerk. Following her employment, she married Joseph G. Weger Jr., on April 24, 1954, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Appleton, and moved immediately to Sherwood, Oregon where their daughter Mori was born. In 1956, the family moved back to Appleton so her husband could get his degree in Economics from Lawrence College. She and her husband had three children during that time; Thomas, Victoria, and Martin. After Joe's graduation the family lived in Sheboygan for two years and then moved to Edgewood, Kentucky, where Mary Ellen became actively involved in Hope Cottage, a new home for abandoned and neglected children. She helped to ready the building for the new organization and eventually worked with some of the children, even taking some of them into her home for short periods of time.
The family moved several times in the local area between Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, so Joe could pursue his career. Mary Ellen became deeply involved in the hospice movement when St. Elizabeth Hospital in Kentucky opened a respite unit for hospice patients. She was the first volunteer and eventually became Hospice Volunteer Coordinator. After several years her husband retired and they moved to their vacation home in South Carolina.
In 1998 Mary Ellen and Joe decided to move back to Appleton to be with their elderly parents and siblings. They spent 13 years living in Neenah; helping to care for both elderly mothers. When Joe became ill, they moved into their daughter's home while he needed fulltime care. Joe died in 2010, and Mary Ellen continued to reside there until her death.
Mary Ellen is survived by her children: Mori Davis, Cincinnati, OH; Victoria (Jim) Barnes, Neenah; Martin (Catherine) Weger, Independence, KY; nine grandchildren: Benjamin and Matthew Maines, Holly (Andy) Piskula, James and Amanda Barnes, Katie (Brian) Whitemarsh, Joseph and Morgen Weger, and A1C Mitchell Weger; a future great grandson; two sisters: Joanne (John) Lindsley, Appleton, and Carol Jean (Tim) Bramlett, Greensboro, GA; two sisters-in-law: Margaret Douglas, Combined Locks, and Alice Douglas, Appleton.
Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her husband Joseph Weger, son Thomas, parents, and two brothers: Richard and Thomas Douglas.
Memorial services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, February 9, 2013, at the Kessler Funeral Home, 304 S. Commercial St., Neenah, with Margaret Douglas officiating. Visitation will be Saturday at the funeral home from 10:30 a.m. until the time of the service. Memorials appreciated in Mary Ellen's name to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675.
Published in Appleton Post-Crescent from February 3 to February 5, 2013
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1932 - 2013 (80 years)
Obituary
