Leona Wischhof
WAUSA – Leona Wischhof, 95, Wausa, died June 6, 2024, at Osmond General Hospital, Osmond.
Funeral services for Leona were held June 11 at Thabor Lutheran Church, Wausa. Richard Bloomquist, PMA, officiated, with burial in Thabor Lutheran Cemetery.
Brockhaus Funeral Home, Wausa, was in charge of arrangements.
Leona Elaine (Swanson) Wischhof was born May 28, 1929, on a farm located between Wausa and Bloomfield. She was the youngest of four children born to Otto and Martha Swanson.
When she was three years old, the family moved to a farm in Pierce County, where Leona received all eight years of elementary education at the same rural school. They continued to call Wausa their home community. She graduated from Wausa High School in 1946 and attended Wayne State College for one year.
Leona was employed at C.W. Carlson and Son (Stanley) Firestone Store, Farmers Union Cooperative Association, then became assistant cashier at Commercial State Bank, where she was employed for 35 years, retiring in 1999.
Leona was baptized July 31, 1929, at Thabor Lutheran Church, Wausa, and was confirmed there Sept. 10, 1944. She and Eugene Wischhof were married there Dec. 30, 2000.
She was a lifelong member of Thabor, where she taught Sunday School and sang in the church choir for many years. In her younger years, she was often asked to sing in small groups or as a soloist for special occasions.
Leona was a member of the church women’s organizations and served as an officer on various committees. Many beautiful quilt tops were sewn for Lutheran World Relief and other charitable groups.
She served on the Wausa Recreational Center Board and was a longtime member of the Wausa Women’s Club, often serving as an officer.
Flowers and plants were found blooming and well cared for, inside and outside her home. Some favorite flowers were impatiens, vinca, roses and petunias.
A fondness for cats was displayed throughout her home. Leona had many figurines, calendars, pictures, puzzles, pictures and toys confirming this passion.
After Eugene moved to the Wausa Nursing Center, Leona continued to live in her home until 2023, when she moved to the Countryside Villa assisted living center in Wausa. She enjoyed and appreciated the residents and staff there until being taken to the hospice care facility at Osmond General Hospital for the last few days of her life.
Survivors include three stepchildren and their spouses, Ronald and Carol Wischhof, Ceresco; Gary and Rhonda Westendorf, Harrisburg, Mo.; and Rande and Shirlene Osberg, Norfolk; one stepsonin- law, Cary Pierce, Naples, Fla.; several step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren; a brother-in-law, Donald Wischhof, and wife, Jolene, Tucson, Ariz.; and numerous nieces and nephews and their families.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Eugene Wischhof; parents; sister and her husband, Helen and Clarence Suhr, Wausa; sister, Gladys, and her husband, Allen Johnson, Trimont, Minn.; brother, Norman, and his wife, Becky Swanson, Wakefield; stepdaughter, Linda Pierce, Naples, Fla.; and great-niece, Ann Kumm, Wausa.
