Illa H. Wenzel, 83

Fort Calhoun native Illa H. Wenzel died July 22, 2009, at her home in Paul.

Funeral services were Saturday, July 25, at the Peterson Mortuary Chapel in Nebraska City. Interment was at the Fort Calhoun Cemetery.

Illa H. Cachelin was born Dec. 21, 1925, in Fort Calhoun to Edward and Hazel (Jepperson) Cachelin. She graduated from Fort Calhoun High School.

She married Raymond McNew and the couple had three sons. She lived in the Fort Calhoun area and then in Papillion, where she worked for the Western Electric Company. She also worked as a real estate agent for a few years, but her main occupation was homemaker for her family. She also lived in the Murdock area.

Her husband, Raymond died in 1988. On Aug. 22, 1989, she married Dwight Wenzel in Lake Tahoe, Calif. The couple made their home on a farm near Paul, southwest of Nebraska City.

Mrs. Wenzel was very active in the Bethel United Church of Christ and in the Eastern Star Lodge, where she served as a Past Worthy Matron of the Papillion Lodge. She enjoyed her grandchildren, dancing, playing cards and traveling the world. She was a great cook and enjoyed baking cookies and pies. She was a member of the Paul Club and “We-Wanta-Go-Camping” Nebraska City group.

She is survived by her husband, Dwight Wenzel; three sons and their spouses, Garry and Judy McNew of Papillion, Ronald and Patsy McNew of Fort Worth, Texas, and Charles McNew of Murdock; nine grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; sisters, JoAnn Crofton and Frances Shephard; a brother, Charles Cachelin; other relatives and friends.

In addition to her first husband, she was preceded in death by a sister, Thelma Biggs, and brother, Urban Cachelin.

Memorials are suggested to the Bethel United Church of Christ in Nebraska City.