Luretta V. Wilber

Luretta V. Wilber, 96, passed away peacefully with family by her side on July 12, 2023. She spent her life taking care of those she loved and took pride in raising a family that shared her values - time together, music and dancing. Luretta was born on June 25, 1927, in the Town of How, Suring, to the late Gerhard and Leola (Lyons) Stuewer. She married the love of her life, Gene Wilber Sr., on April 26, 1952. Together they raised a family she was incredibly proud of – five children – all of whom she was able to spend time with up until her final days, Leola (William) Pitzen, Harvey (Susan) Wilber Sr., Gene (Linda) Wilber Jr., Kevin (JoAnn) Wilber and Karen (Steven) Linzmeyer. She dedicated her life to being a mother, a grandmother to 16 and a great-grandmother to 34. In her younger years, she worked at the famous Annie Holl store in Hayes. Once married, she and her husband moved to Oshkosh where they raised their family before returning to the Town of How with her younger children to take over her parents’ farmstead in 1973. She “fed the animals” almost her entire life. When her kids were young, she saved and paid for music lessons for them. As long as they continued to practice, she’d continue to pay. Her sons went on to form the Wilber Brothers Band and she followed them everywhere they went to show her support, drink a beer, dance and tap her toe along to their music. She was a woman of many talents. Sewing, baking, crocheting, knitting, embroidering and canning, to name a few. Her daughters still talk about how beautiful the handmade dresses she made for them were. She saved and reused everything. Later in life, she spent a lot of time with the church’s aid, helping with meals and running fabric to and fro to ladies making rugs and quilts. Genealogy was also a passion of hers, but she did it before the internet was born. Many hours were spent taking photos of headstones and digging through records, continuously building family trees. She was an excellent record-keeper. She knew everything about everyone – maiden names, who married whom, kids, ages, etc. Luretta enjoyed caring for children her entire life. She babysat for anyone who needed her help and into her 60s was working at the child care center in town. Even when dementia set in, she still lit up at the sight of little ones. If there was a baby around, he or she was in Luretta’s arms. Other jobs she held included Friday Canning and working at the Senior Citizen Center. She volunteered at the Bethesda Thrift Store in Green Bay and was a poll worker for the Town of How. She was honored to receive the Suring Area Senior Citizen Award and served as grand marshal of the Suring Labor Day Parade on Sept. 2, 2013. Everyone was welcome in her home, and those who entered the front door would be greeted by name with Luretta’s smile, along with her homemade jam, cutout cookies or made-from-scratch chocolate cake. Her loved ones are confident she’ll be waiting at heaven’s doorstep to welcome them yet again, when the time is right. Luretta is survived by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Beverly Wilber of Green Bay, Doris Wilber of Appleton, Darlene Wilber of Oshkosh, Carla Wilber of Keshena and Silvia Wilber of Gillett, and an abundance of nieces and nephews of whom she also treasured. She lived a long life and in doing so, was preceded in death by many loved ones including her parents; her husband; her sisters and their husbands, Hilda (Dalton) Heimerman and Violet (Lavern) Hinkfus; her brother and his wife, Bernard (Hazel) Stuewer; brothers-in-law, George (Marcella) Wilber, Maynard Wilber, Earl Wilber, David Wilber, Marion Bernhard Wilber, Roger Wilber and Franklin Wilber Jr.; sisters-in-law, Barbara (LaRoy) Miller and Beulah (Verlyn) Spreeman. Luretta’s family would like to thank the incredible people at Lakewood Assisted Living for the loving care they gave her throughout her stay, especially the last few weeks. A special thank you to Unity Hospice as well for their help in making her last days here on earth comfortable for her. Visitation will be held on Friday, July 21, 2023, at Gruetzmacher Funeral Home from 4-8 p.m. Visitation continues on Saturday, July 22, 2023, at St. John Lutheran Church-Hayes from 9 a.m. until the funeral service at 11 a.m. with Pastor Paul Scheunemann officiating. Luretta will be interred beside Gene at St. John Lutheran Cemetery. Gruetzmacher Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences can be expressed at www.gruetzmacherfuneralhome.com.