Obit: Kleckner, Frances Mary (1920 - 2006)

Contact:  Shari Hahn

Surnames: Kleckner, Haueslin, Silvius, Ritzert, Schnulle, Luetschwager, Visger, Thomas

----Sources: Marshfield News-Herald (Marshfield, Wood County, Wis.) Sept 4, 2006

Kleckner, Frances Mary (2 June 1920 - 1 Sept. 2006)

Frances Kleckner

NEILLSVILLE -- Frances Kleckner, 86, of Neillsville, formerly of Harvard, Ill., died Sept. 1, 2006, at the Memorial Health and Rehabilitation Center in Neillsville, where she had been a resident since January 2006.

Funeral services for Frances will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Living Hope Evangelical Free Church in Neillsville, Wis. The Rev. Steven Wentz will officiate. Music will be provided by Kathy Meshnick and Beulah Zoutendam and Wayne Zoutendam, soloist. Casket bearers will be Len Rizert, Jennifer Rizert, Kevin Kleckner, Paul Schnulle and Nathaniel Kleckner.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. Tuesday at the church. The Gesche Funeral Home is assisting Frances' family with funeral arrangements.

Funeral services for Frances will also be held at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Saunders and McFarlin Funeral Home in Harvard, Ill. The Rev. Steven Wentz will officiate. Casket bearers for services in Harvard, Ill. will be Len Rizert, Jennifer Rizert, Kevin Kleckner, Nathaniel Kleckner, Phillip Schnulle and Jeff Luetschwager.

Visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., at the funeral home. Interment will be in the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Harvard, Ill.

Frances Mary Kleckner was born June 2, 1920, in Belvidere, Ill., the daughter of Hugh and Bertha (Haueslin) Silvius. She was united in marriage to LaVerne Kleckner and worked as a homemaker, farm wife and a wonderful cook. She loved to cook, bake and can from her huge garden. Her fried chicken was a special treat and her cookies the best anywhere. Even as busy as she always was, she made time to crochet. She was truly an artist with her crochet hook. She also taught Sunday School and was a Bluebird leader in her younger years. She was divorced from LaVerne in 1984. She moved from Harvard, Ill., to Neillsville in July 1999, to reside with her son and daughter-in-law, Wayne and Annette Kleckner. In her spare time, Frances enjoyed playing cards, especially pinochle, her entire life.

Frances came to know her Lord and Savior later in life and spent many hours studying her Bible. She loved her "small group" and attending church when she was able. Her family was very special to her, and she will be sadly missed.

She is survived by a son, Wayne (Annette) Kleckner, of Neillsville; grandchildren, Kathy (Len) Ritzert of Granton and Kevin (Cathi) Kleckner of Neillsville; step-grandchildren, Paul (Michelle) Schnulle of Greenwood, Phillip Schnulle of St. Ansgar, Iowa, and Julie (Jeff) Luetschwager of Roscoe, Ill; great-grandchildren, Tabitha, Tonya and Nathaniel Kleckner and Jennifer Ritzert; step-great- grandchildren, Melissa and Adam Schnulle, Jacob, Bryce, Jed, Eli and Elizabeth Schnulle, Jessica and Jonathan Luetschwager, Andy Ritzert and Amy (Joe) Beech; and three great-great-grandchildren. Frances is further survived by several nieces and nephews, including a special niece, Judy (Jim) Visger of Queen's Beach, Ariz.; her brother-in-law, Walter Thomas of Mesa, Ariz., and her former husband, LaVerne Kleckner of Harvard, Ill.

She was preceded in death by her parents, an infant son, an infant step-great grandson and her sister, Barbara Thomas.