Wilma Hongsermeier

Wilma Hongsermeier 90, of Mt. Morris, IL stepped into the arms of her Savior, Tuesday morning January 31, 2023, after an extended illness.

She was born the second of six children to Mr. Verde A. and Mrs. Mamie F. (Cox) Coble of Flora, IL on June 19, 1932.  Wilma was an above average student during her academic career and received a Certificate of Award for an A average in spelling in the eighth grade. Later, her knowledge of spelling became very useful to her children and grandchildren. Her school days were accentuated by her involvements in dance, cheerleading, volleyball and other popular sports of that time period.  As in many large families, she participated in home keeping, most notably maintaining a large garden of fruits and vegetables. She often reminded her children, “We grew everything we ate and we wasted nothing.”

In 1950, upon graduation from Flora High School, she moved to Dixon, IL having obtained employment at Public Service Company. That winter, after accepting a blind date, she met her future husband, Cpl. Roy William Hongsermeier U.S.A.F. They were married during a snowstorm on December 20, 1951, and moved to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, NE where Wilma began her life as the military wife of an officer of Strategic Air Command Army Air Forces. Upon completion of military service, they moved their young family to Mt. Morris, IL to begin working in the family retail business Acker’s Shoe Store, later becoming Roy’s Shoes and Togs on Wesley Avenue in downtown Mt. Morris.

Never one to sit idle, Wilma preferred staying busy. She spent her time raising three sons, supporting her husband’s business, maintaining a prolific garden, cooking and baking, working as a seamstress doing sewing and alterations of all kinds, and becoming involved in her local community and church.

Wilma was a woman of faith. Her Christian walk was the mainstay of her entire life. She believed in the power of prayer. Her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can testify to her daily routine of bible study and prayer. There were multiple times, that her sons referred to and found comfort in the certainty that their mother prayed for them (and their families) daily by name. The highlights, underlines, and notes in her much used tattered bible are a tender and now precious reminder of her devotion.

Whether it was her involvement in the Christian Women’s Club, Church Choir, Tutoring Club, Women’s Missionary Society, Ladies Prayer Circle or her role as Sunday School Teacher and Church Deaconess, her belief in the power of prayer was at the center of her commitment to serving her church community. She was described as a loving and caring woman and faithful friend.

She is survived by her sons, Michael Lee (Mary) Hongsermeier, of Rockford, IL, Bruce Arnold (Cindy) Hongsermeier, of Mt. Morris, IL, eight grandchildren, who will miss her famous angel food cake with seven minute frosting, and her thumbprint cookies, nine grandchildren who eagerly anticipated her chocolate brownies, her sister Judith Buhs Morris of Casa Grande, AZ and several devoted nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 35 years Roy William Hongsermeier (1986) and her eldest son Ronald Wayne Hongsermeier (2020).

We would like to thank our family and friends for the heartfelt expressions of sympathy we have received from multiple social media outlets. Thank you for sharing your memories of Mom with us. With grateful hearts, we extend our thanks to the staff of Serenity Hospice and Home in Oregon, IL for the care and compassion we received while Mom was in residence there.

A memorial service will he held Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at 11:00am at Evangelical Free Church of Mt. Morris 102 South Seminary Ave. Memorials of remembrance can be made to The Evangelical Free Church of Mt. Morris or Serenity Hospice and Home Oregon, IL.

Arrangements were entrusted to Finch Funeral Home 405 East Hitt St. Mt. Morris, IL 61054 815-734-6156.

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