Walter Eugene Werner
January 14, 1931 - February 27, 2010
Early, Iowa
Visitation: 5-8:00 p.m. March 02, 2010 at Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake, Iowa
Funeral Service: 11:00 a.m. March 03, 2010 at Faith Lutheran Church in Early, Iowa
Interment: March 03, 2010 at Schaller Cemetery in Schaller, Iowa
Eugene Werner, age 79, of Early, Iowa died Saturday, February 27, 2010 at the Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake.
Walter Eugene Werner left his tired body behind to join family and friends in Heaven on February 27, 2010 at the age of 79. He was born January 14, 1931 in Meadow Grove, Nebraska to Walter Theodore Werner and Elsie Marie Nelson. He was preceded in death by both his parents, his oldest sister, LaRue Neimeier Less and her husbands Carl Neimeier and Art Less. He has one surviving sister, LaBelle Foreman and her husband, Richard. He is survived by his wife, Wilma, his daughter Jeane Capers and husband Garry and two daughters, Anna and Jessica; his son Walter and wife Becky and their two children, Chris and Kim; his son Wayne and wife Karen and their three children, Stephannie, Trent and Clayton; his son Deane and wife Karen and their son Matthew as well as 11 great-grandchildren.
On his 14th birthday, his family moved from Meadow Grove, Nebraska to a farm south of Galva where he attended school. After a few years they moved to another farm southwest of Schaller and he graduated from Schaller school in 1948. He met his love, Wilma Mendenhall from Early and they were married February 22, 1951. She would become his lifelong companion and the one he was totally committed to through both good times and more recent difficult times. They raised their four children to always do the very best that they could.
He was a provider and farmer first and foremost. He rebuilt engines of all kinds to supplement the field work. But his real love was farming. In fact, if you asked him, that was the only job worth having. He loved preparing the ground and then producing from it. He was an inventor. If he didn’t have a piece of equipment because he couldn’t afford it or they simply didn’t have one to do the job, he built one from scrap iron customizing it to do what he wanted. He built a home from the ground up just as his parents had done. He learned all he could about wiring and plumbing and became the “Mr. Fixit” of the countryside. He was curious about all working things whether it was a grandfather clock or putting in an elevator. His shirts always had to have a pocket so he could carry a pen and paper. He could go to bed at night, sleep on it til the next morning, pull that pen and paper out of his pocket and have a problem figured out. He loved a good challenge. Anyone could call and ask him about a problem and he would figure it out for them.
After he retired from farming in his late 60’s, he worked his gardens. He started the seeds in the house and planted them in that fertile Iowa soil. He had so many vegetables and just couldn’t give enough away. You can only eat so much at home. So his friends, the café and nursing homes took the rest off his hands. During that time, he also took over the kitchen much to his wife’s dismay. He loved to help cook but his favorite part was the food preparation. He would have all those vegetables diced exactly the same size so they would all cook evenly. In his 70’s he entered the world of computers, webcams and cell phones. Who would have believed it! After his lifelong checkers partner left this world he no longer had anyone to play with. Once he got that computer, he found real people all over the world to play with and he played at the “expert” level even in his 70’s. He did not like to be beat or even have a draw; he didn’t get beat often.
He was a proud strong man who could run and jump picket fences, win at cards and “Wahoo”, put a mean English spin on a ping pong ball and find a coin magically behind your ear. He believed in God, was a Sunday School teacher and helped establish Faith Lutheran Church in Early. He was our family’s strength and we’re going to miss him terribly. We love you, dear Husband and Dad; rest now and know that we’ll do okay because of what you’ve taught us. We’ll see you again down the road; enjoy those checker games with Bob.
Our family would like to thank the staff of Methodist Manor in Storm Lake. Tina always answered Jeane’s emails from Texas; Heidi’s door was always open to provide comfort; Dan provided much needed IT advice and Rex was there to get the first webcam contact going. The nurses were there to talk to us on the phone just to let us know how he was doing when we couldn’t be there. The Dietary support staff spoke so kindly to the residents as they delivered their meals to them at their tables. Finally, the special staff who came in and made him feel as though their only mission was to provide care to him and help him feel better; thank you, Natalie for your hugs when he felt “a little bit lonely.” We have appreciated everyone of you and realize how difficult it can be for you at times.
A special thanks to Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Hospice for their patience and understanding towards our family. It takes a special kind of compassion, grace and love to perform the difficult roles you must play and we know it wasn’t always easy for you. For those families like ours who have never dealt with hospice, know that hospice is a tremendous comfort and help spiritually, physically and mentally. It’s very difficult to deal with it by yourselves and this staff was wonderful. Thank you everyone.
Copyright (c)2007-2010 Curtis Bloes
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