Obituaries : Lois Jeanette (Schminke) Wessling

Lois Jeanette (Schminke) Wessling, age 92, died Thursday, July 10, 2025 at the Keystone Nursing Care Center.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at St. John Lutheran Church in Newhall, with Rev. Jeffrey Schanbacher officiating. Interment will be held at St. John Cemetery. The family will greet friends from 9:00 until 10:45 AM on Tuesday, also at the church.

Lois was born on September 26, 1932, the daughter of Walter and Ilma (Werning) Schminke, and graduated from Van Horne High School. She was united in marriage to Grant Wessling on August 30, 1952, at St. John Lutheran Church in Newhall.

Lois was an incredibly loving wife, sister, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend to the world. She was so warm & welcoming with everyone, she never met a stranger- to her each new encounter brought the wonder and companionship of a new friend! She had such a kind, energetic, cheerful personality, and loved to engage in stimulating conversations, always looking to highlight the unique joy in every memorable moment. She was particularly fond of reminiscing and sharing interactive stories of her childhood and younger adventurous years, colorful stories that instilled encouragement to the listener to vividly live life to the fullest. She made many new friends during her time working at People's Bank in Cedar Rapids and then later as an administrative secretary in the Benton Community School district.

Growing up on the Schminke farm outside of Newhall, Lois embraced the midwestern farm role and rural hard work ethic of getting her elbows dirty by tending to the cows, pigs, and chickens, before riding to school on a pony led cart. Her lifelong love of sports began when she played basketball at Van Horne High, and continued throughout her life as an avid & proud Minnesota Twins fan. Beyond that- like most women- she dreamed of and sought to become most beautiful and loved getting fixed up and taking pictures with her friends and family. At a Marengo big day celebration, her beauty attracted the attention of her future husband Grant, which started a 70+ year storied American relationship constantly filled with innocently rebellious activities of parties, road trips, and attending dances of all types of music- especially 50s rock n roll, Elvis, and country music. All generations of Lois's vast offspring would comment on how fantastically fun she was to hang out with, and imagined it would have been even more so in her younger years.

To Lois and Grant, her family meant everything, and she took pride in supporting each family member. She fiercely loved her large family, nothing made her happier than having everyone together (EVERYONE!), or attending her sons and grandchildren's baseball games and sporting events (where you would often hear her cheering from the bleachers as the loudest voice in the stands!). Even in her later years when she battled through her MS condition with the utmost strength & courage and those dancing legs of hers didn't work the way she wanted them to, she still managed to find ways to show up and support all of her grandkids and great grandkids in all their varying activities. The vastness of her unwavering devotion to her family will forever be treasured in our hearts.

On her own farm, she was an exceptional gardener and maintained beautiful flower beds with extraordinary tender care, passing along knowledge and tips to many open ears. She was quite a skilled quilter, golfer, and enormously talented cook- and she always had a dessert ready, including at breakfast! Her family & friends would eagerly hope for her famous matrimonial bars beloved by all & passed down from the family generations. Later in life the salt from her beloved pretzels helped maintain the sharpness of her mind and the saltiness of her behavior, yet her demeanor always remained authentic and thoughtful, with exceedingly genuine foresight to think ahead (not to be confused with "worrying"!). Though extremely kind and gentle, she sparked the fire from within the Wessling Spirit. That fiery spirit inspired and touched us all, and combined with her legacy of love and deeply committed faith, as well as spiritual practice, that flame will eternally burn brightly inside every one of us for generations to come.

She is survived by 4 sons, married to 4 fantastic women, Doug, and Debra (Weichman) Wessling, Dave, and Kathy (Stumpff) Wessling, Tom, and Sara (Feuerbach) Wessling, William, Kay (Fritcher) Wessling; 9 grandchildren, Heidi (Scott), Heath, Rachelle (Stu), Brooke (Scott), Erin (Tony), Carrie, Abby (Dillon), Wade (Katie), and Brad; 15 great-grandchildren; and her sister Ruth Oehlerich

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Grant on August 5, 2024; 4 brothers, Martin, Wilfred, Vernon, and Daryl Schminke; and 2 sisters, Lenore Thompson, and Elaine Kromminga.

The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff at the Keystone Nursing Care Center for going above and beyond in their efforts in caring for Lois.

Online condolences: www.phillipsfuneralhomes.com