Anna Werner

Anna Werner, 93 years old, of St. Leon, IN passed away peacefully January 14, surrounded by family. The legacy for this family began when Al was visiting his uncle at Margaret Mary Hospital and his nurse, Anna, caught Al’s eye. Home on leave from the Army, Al had lunch in the hospital cafeteria with a few of his friends, including Anna, whom he did not know at that point. Taken by her charm, Al began writing to Anna when he was redeployed to Europe. Married on July 21, 1954, Anna & Al celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last year. An orphan with no known siblings and adopted around 5 or 6 years old, Anna wanted a large family. Having seven children in eight years, she was blessed to raise a big family. A doting mother, Anna would get up at 4:00 in the morning to make the kids a hot breakfast every day and fried chicken for them to take to school. Not quite understanding how good they had it at the time, the children now joke that they wanted cold cereal because that’s what all their friends had for breakfast. Anna was always helping her children with their 4-H projects, often staying up late to finish them. She once rescued three black & white Hampshire pigs during the freezing cold that were born on their farm. She brought them in from the cold and put them in the oven to warm them up, accidently singeing the edges of their ears. As any good mother would do, she bottle fed them and raised them as her pets. Anna loved to explore her artistic talents. She painted scenery with acrylic oil paint and made ceramics. She enjoyed playing the piano and organ at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in St. Leon and played for many weddings. She also like to play the accordion. Another talent was her green thumb and she could easily turn weeds into a beautiful garden. Anna enjoyed riding her bike and did so until her late 80’s when her doctor advised her that it might not be a good idea as he feared her falling. Although she stopped riding, it wasn’t because she thought she would break any bones if she ever fell. Her kids believe she had the strongest bones because of her love for milk. Her bones were strong, her nails grew quickly and she had beautiful skin. Another of her loves was pancakes which she could eat for days.
Anna will be greatly missed by her husband, Al, and their children Anthony (Ty) of St. Leon, Art (Lynne) of St. Leon, Rick (Brenda) of Sunman, Anita (Charley) of Michigan, Jerry of Lawrenceburg, and daughter-in-law Darlene of St. Leon; 20 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by sons Andy and Alvin Werner. Anna was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 464 and was a past auxiliary president of the 9th district.
Visitation for Anna will be Friday, January 17 from 4:00-7:00 pm at the Parish Life Center in St. Leon, beginning with Rosary at 4:00. Mass of Christian burial will be at All Saints Parish, St. Joseph Campus on Saturday, January 18 at 11:00 am. Memorials can be made to Family Wishes. Please visit www.andres-wuestefeldfh.com to offer condolences and sign the guestbook.