Francis B. Wietharn
Francis B. Wietharn, 91, of Seneca, died late Saturday evening, March
17, 2007, at Nemaha Valley Community Hospital.
Francis
was born on April 13, 1915 at the Wietharn homestead, a farm northeast
of Baileyville, the son of Frank and Anna Catherine Engelken Wietharn.
He attended the Wooden Shoe Country School located on their farm, as
well as Sacred Heart School. He loved helping on the family farm, and
later took over the operation.
On October 14, 1940, he married Laura Lierz
at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Seneca. They spent 58 wonderful years
of marriage, until her death on November 29, 1998. They lived and farmed
on the Wietharn family homestead all of their married life, and raised
four children.
Francis loved the farm and appreciated
the beauty of nature. He often said there was no better place on earth
than the farm. Even though he loved living in the country, he retired
in 1998 and moved to Seneca.
Francis was a member of Sacred Heart Church
of Baileyville, the Knights of Columbus 1769, Sts. Peter and Paul Church
in Seneca, and was a recipient of a Soil Conservation Award, in recognition
of all the years of conservation practices he implemented on his farm.
Francis established the Francis & Laura Wietharn Memorial Fund in
1999 through the STEP Foundation, for the benefit of Sts. Peter and
Paul Church and the Sacred Heart Church.
Survivors include his three sons, Dwight
of Kansas City, Clarence of Overland Park, and Frank of Topeka; a daughter
Betty Rottinghaus of Overland Park; a sister, Rita Floersch of Seneca;
nine grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Besides his wife Laura he was preceded
in death by five brothers, Edwin, Aloysious, Clarence, Father Sylvester
and Father Albert; and two of his sisters, Helen Buser and Marie Heiman.
Mass of Christian burial will be 11 AM
Wednesday, March 21, at Sacred Heart Church in Baileyville. Burial will
be in Sts. Peter & Paul Cemetery in Seneca, where he will be laid
to rest next to his wife, Laura. Rosaries will be prayed at 2 &
7 PM on Tuesday at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca.
Memorial contributions may be made to
the American Heart Association, and sent in care of the family.