Lorraine J. Wesse
Lorraine J. Wesse, age 101, of Danforth, Ill., formerly Markesan, died peacefully on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, at Prairieview Lutheran Home in Danforth.
She was born July 3, 1919 in Chicago, the daughter of Joseph and Clara Jacobitz Holland and the third of their five children. She graduated from Fenger High School and enjoyed babysitting and working as a lifeguard. On Nov. 29, 1941, she was united in marriage to Herman Wesse in Chicago. The couple raised their family in Riverdale, Ill. and spent countless weekends and vacations on their farm outside of Markesan near Big Green Lake, where they moved permanently in 1993.
Lorraine worked as a secretary at the Illinois State's Attorney’s office in Markham, Ill., volunteered with the Lutheran Laymen’s League, and served as the Manchester Senior Center’s senior liaison to the Green Lake County Department of Health and Human Services. But her long life will best be remembered for her love and devotion to her large family, and especially the children, who were always treated to her skilled cooking and coveted desserts. She enjoyed gardening throughout her life, and was notorious for pinching pieces off of plants and nurturing seedlings on the windowsill in her Prairieview room. She was an avid follower of and investor in the stock market, and rarely turned down a game of cards or a trip to a casino to play the slots. Lorraine was a former member of St. John Lutheran Church in Berlin and, most recently, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bourbonnais, Ill.
Lorraine was preceded in death by her husband Herman in addition to her parents and all of her siblings and their spouses, as well as one grandson and two great-granddaughters. She is survived by her daughter, Diana Carlson, two sons: Lawrence (Karen) Wesse and David (Deborah) Wesse, eight grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.
A graveside service with interment will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. at Dartford Cemetery in Green Lake, with the Rev. Paul Mundinger officiating. Arrangements have been entrusted to Barbola Funeral Chapel in Berlin. Messages of sympathy can be mailed to Barbola Funeral Chapel, c/o Lorraine Wesse, PO Box 201, Berlin, WI 54923.
Online condolences may be submitted and sent using the form below. You may also email condolences to the family through "barbolafc@yahoo.com". All condolences are private and sent only to the family.