Cover photo for Carol Wertz's Obituary
Carol Wertz Profile Photo
1921 Carol 2012

Carol Wertz

February 3, 1921 — November 29, 2012

Carol Jean Wertz, age 91 of Chappell, Nebraska died Thursday morning, November 29, 2012 at the Miller Memorial Care Center in Chappell, Nebraska.

Memorial Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, December 10, 2012 at the Chappell United Methodist Church with Pastor Ezekiel Koech officiating. Inurment will follow at the Chappell Cemetery in the Wertz family plot.

Cremation has taken place and there will be no visitation at the funeral home.

Holechek Funeral Home and Cremations in Chappell is serving the Wertz family.

Carol Jean Manatt Wertz was born in Perry, Iowa, February 3, 1921 to Claude P. and Helen Irene (Miller) Manatt. Carol Jean was an only child and spent lots of wonderful time with her grandmother, Julia Miller who lived down the alley.

After graduation from high school, Carol attended Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where she was affiliated with the Chi Omega sorority. Carol was living in Chicago and working at a World War II ordinance plant when she went on a blind date with a Captain in the Army, John D. Wertz. Less than a year after they met they were married in Perry, Iowa on April 7, 1945.

Captain Wertz was stationed in Washington, D.C. and on January 17, 1946, Carol and John welcomed their first son, John Ross Wertz. John D., Carol and John Ross moved to Chappell and lived in the Wertz home. James Paul Wertz was born on September 30, 1947 and Julie Beth Wertz completed the family on May 31, 1949, both born in Sidney, Nebraska.

While John D. was busy working as a lawyer in Chappell, Carol made a wonderful home for her family. She was a Cub Scout leader and cheer leader for all of her kids, offering them many opportunities in Chappell.

Carol was active in PEO and the Methodist Church. Carol and John had many close friends. Since the Wertz kids had only one aunt and uncle, many of the friends of the Wertz’s became their aunts and uncles.

Carol and John D. participated in a Supper Club where four couples would gather for a pot luck dinner on Sunday evening followed by bridge playing.

Carol was an excellent bridge player and enjoyed playing golf. Carol had a flair for dressing in the latest styles and colors. Reading books from the library made Carol a lifelong learner.

Carol loved to travel and see the world. Carol was a wonderful cook and worked hard to create a home where everyone felt welcome. Carol was involved in the community of Chappell and helped start the Meals on Wheels program. She also sold Avon and volunteered in the kindergarten classes for many years. She was commended for being a Western Nebraska Community Advocate.

Carol thoroughly enjoyed being a grandmother to James Paul (JP) and Jessica Wertz of Ft. Collins and John Ross (JR), Jamie and Maggie Wertz of San Diego. Carol loved nature, feeding birds, growing and smelling flowers, and watching the squirrels out of her kitchen window. Carol also loved cats and had two cats that adopted her.

She always enjoyed returning to Iowa for the Manatt reunions held on the Manatt family farm and to Perry, Iowa for her Perry High School reunions. She was always very proud of John D. and her children. Carol had a wonderful sense of humor and was a great friend to many.
Carol and John D. moved to the Assisted Living Center and then into the Miller Memorial Care Center in the last years of their lives. The Wertz family is very grateful to the caring staff that looked after their parents.

Carol is remembered as a loving mother, wife, grandmother and great grandmother by her family: daughter, Julie Wertz and husband Mike Bilsing of Ft. Collins, CO, son James Wertz and wife Vickie Anderson of Paxton, NE, son John Wertz of San Diego , CA.; grandchildren John R. Wertz Jr. and fiancé Kristin Mansour of San Diego, CA., James P. Wertz Jr. and wife Kelsey of Ft. Collins, CO and their daughter and Carol’s great granddaughter Rylee Lynn Wertz, Jessica and Matthew Brunk of Ft. Collins, CO, and Jamie Wertz of Missoula, MT and Margaret Wertz of San Diego, CA and brother in law Paul Wertz of Omaha, NE.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Chappell Public Library in lieu of flowers.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Carol Wertz, please visit our flower store.

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