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 1916 - 2014 (97 years)
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| Name |
Gladys Viola Wehrwein |
| Born |
31 Oct 1916 |
Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, U.S.A.  |
| Gender |
Female |
| Died |
28 Jan 2014 |
Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, U.S.A. |
| Notes |
- http://host.madison.com/news/local/obituaries/matthias-gladys-viola-wehrwein/article_0aa9ed1e-bb97-527c-9a7b-b311aa320b2c.html
"MADISON - Gladys Viola Wehrwein was born on Oct. 31, 1916, in Manitowoc, WI, and died on Jan. 28, 2014. She was 97 years old.
Gladys was born and grew up on a small 80 acre dairy farm in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. She experienced life on the farm with no running water, no indoor bathroom and no electricity. Because of the illness of her mother, she and her siblings were raised by her father and grandparents, Dora and Adam Wehrwein.
She attended the one room Lincoln Elementary School. Gladys graduated from Lincoln High School in Manitowoc in 1934 and attended UW-Madison. Gladys married Vilas Matthias on Sept. 9, 1939, and they were married for 66 years.
Following high school, she worked as a dental assistant in Manitowoc. Their first car was a 1934 Chevrolet which they purchased by selling a cow, and they drove it to the university. Gladys majored in home economics and Vilas majored in vocational agriculture. After Vilas graduated from college in 1942, they lived in Plainfield, Columbus and Janesville, WI, before moving to Madison, where Vilas became the manager of the University Experimental Farms. Gladys assisted Matt with his master's degree in agriculture administration in both editing and typing, after which Matt received his status as Professor.
While living in Madison for over six decades, Gladys was active in the Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Bethel Lutheran Church, president of the Woman's Guild at Mount Olive and president of the Daughters of Demeter at the College of Agriculture, and president of the Valparaiso University Guild.
She was an agent for Newcomer Greeting Service and then opened her own business called Courtesy Carriage. She greeted newcomers to Madison for 20 years, welcoming over 7,000 new families who moved to Madison. She also started the Madison Newcomers Club which was enjoyed by hundreds of people. She and Matt were avid UW-Madison Badgers football fans as season ticket holders for over 50 years.
In the mid 1950's, they purchased forest lands and lake shore property in northwest Wisconsin that has to this day been a blessing to the entire family, serving as a residence, vacation get-away and family gathering place for three generations.
The two of them loved to travel and kept learning even well into their golden years. They hosted People to People Agriculture Tours to 34 different countries, the most memorable being two trips to Russia during the Cold War period. They took 15 Elder Hostel trips together. They always followed the exploits and adventures of their children and grandchildren, traveling and enthusiastically, enjoying countless athletic events, concerts, graduations, confirmations, baptisms and birthdays.
Gladys was always very proud of her accomplishments and her abilities in greeting newcomers and organizing trips. They loved their 17 years in Venice, FL, in the retirement community of Bay Indies for six months each year. They gained a whole set of new friends from all over Canada and the United States and attended the Venice Presbyterian 'Church in the Pines'. On Gladys' 70th birthday, Matt honored her with 70 pink roses on the altar of the church for the Sunday services.
She was preceded in death by her father, Walter Wehrwein; mother, Elsie (Weyer) Wehrwein; brother, Lester Wehrwein; sister, Florence Berge; daughter, Beverly (Matthias) Koop; and husband, Professor Vilas William "Matt" Matthias.
Gladys is survived by her daughter, Donna (Matthias) Weihofen and her husband, Ray Weihofen along with their three children: son, Wayne Weihofen; daughter, Dr. Wendy (Weihofen) Mortimore M.D., and Wendy's three children, Jacob, Brandon, and Collin Mortimore; also daughter, Vicki (Weihofen) Mutchler and her husband, Brian Mutchler and their two children, Cole and Sydney Mutchler.
Gladys is also survived by her son, William Matthias and his wife, Karen (Boll) Matthias and their four children: son, Mark Matthias; son, Gregory Matthias and his wife, Kristine (Jones) Matthias and their two children, Malia and Kira Matthias; daughter, Kristin (Matthias) Bitz and her husband, Nick Bitz and their two children, Noah and Tyler Bitz; also son, Jeffery Matthias and his wife, Jessica (Bagnall) Matthias and their son, Jack Matthias.
In addition, Gladys is survived by her special son-in-law, Richard Koop, husband of Gladys' late daughter, Beverly (Matthias) Koop. She is also survived by four special nephews; sons of her late sister, Florence (Wehrwien) Berge - Tom, Jim, John and David, Berge."
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| Person ID |
I14531 |
Complete |
| Last Modified |
17 Jun 2018 |
| Father |
Walter William Wehrwein, b. 16 Aug 1887, Newton, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, U.S.A. , d. 20 Sep 1960, Newton, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, U.S.A. (Age 73 years) |
| Mother |
Elsie Weyer, b. Abt 1890, d. Abt 1933 (Age ~ 43 years) |
| Family ID |
F6296 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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 | Born - 31 Oct 1916 - Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, U.S.A. |
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 | Died - 28 Jan 2014 - Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, U.S.A. |
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