GLORIA THURNER

Gloria Mae Thurner, 91, of Neenah, completed her life's journey on Saturday, January 15, 2022.

As an adult Gloria led a traditional life as a housewife and mother, marrying her husband Harold in 1950 at age 19.  But the managing role she provided for her growing family was as unmistakable as it was essential.  Stretching the budget to feed and clothe a family of eight was no small thing.  Fulfilling the needs of a household ranging from infants in diapers to budding teenagers honed her juggling skills and ability to function under stress with little sleep.  Raising her family through the social changes of the 1960's and 70's rounded out her motherhood PhD.

Gloria's love of all-things family included a remarkable ability to recall with ease the finest details of family history, from the close circles of local relatives to distant generations past and present.  Recalling for us, and teaching us, the events and places of that history across both sides of her large extended family.

She was a Christian with a world view that left room for all faiths.  Evolving from conservative leanings to a pragmatic liberalism that not only tolerated but supported social change.  She instigated our family's participation in a program that brought disadvantaged youth the same age as her own children up from urban Chicago to live with us for many summers, providing a new perspective both for us and for them.

All of her children became globe trotters.  It was a major event when all of them were in Wisconsin at the same time.  Late in life she and Harold flew to Australia and to Germany to visit her far-flung children and trace family roots.

She was a cancer survivor and had a heart condition requiring a pacemaker.  But she overcame these obstacles as best she could, and after caregiving for her husband for many years until his death, continued to live many more years in her own home until just a few days before her death.

Gloria had an ambitious nature and was always thinking about the next project.  Although her husband was often the primary recruit, especially for particularly physical projects, she was no slouch in making her own contributions.  Many of the changes and adventures of her life sprouted from her own imagination.

Her social life revolved around family, the Church, and her children's school, all of which were nearby.  She didn't get a driver's license until after her children did, and local stores started moving out of the neighborhood.  Later in life she took great pleasure in the Red Hat Society with likeminded women.   

In retirement she and her husband traveled for many years throughout the United States in a motorhome, visiting and often traveling with friends and relatives.  They enjoyed life.  They particularly enjoyed being grandparents and great grandparents, and left a legacy in the hearts of their descendants.

Gloria was born December 30,1930 in Hortonville, WI.  She was the eldest of four children of Edward and Irene (Pohlman) Wege, grew up on the family farm in the Town of Ellington, and graduated from Hortonville High School in 1949.  She was married 63 years to Harold, until his death in 2013.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her daughter Debra (Jeff) Johnson, as well as her siblings and their spouses: Marian (Merlyn) Bergmann, Edward (Mary Anne) Wege.

She leaves behind a brother, Ronald (Carla) Wege.  She is further survived by her children: Nancy (Duncan) Wall, Susan (Randy) Stadtmueller, Gary Thurner, Mark Thurner (Ana Margheritis), and Kevin Thurner; grandchildren: Nadine Tarabishi, Manar (Alethea) Tarabishi, Beth Stadtmueller (Collin Kieffer), Britt Johnson, Brynn Johnson, Deidre (Frank) Jaeckel, Lance Thurner (Amy Starecheski), Kensey Thurner, and Olga (Adam) Lurie; great grandchildren: Ian and Brody Luehring, Sidney Starturner, Clara Kieffer, Kadin and Kamran Tarabishi, Liv, Atticus and Cyrus Lurie.

A service remembering Gloria's life will be held at the Westgor Funeral Home, 205 W. Doty Avenue, Neenah on Sunday, January 23, 2022. Visitation 1:00 pm. Ceremony 2:00 pm by her beloved nephew, Deacon Jeff Prickette.  We respectfully ask those gathered to wear a mask.