Services
Obituary
Virginia "Ginny" Ruth (Patterson) Wachenheim, 96, of Belmond, passed away on Sunday, February 4, 2024 at the Rehabilitation Center of Belmond.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, February 9, 2024 at Ewing Funeral Home, 111 Luick’s Lane South in Belmond, with Pastor Katie Pals officiating.
Visitation will be held one hour prior to services on Friday.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations be made to the Lee G. & Virginia P. Wachenheim Scholarship at Belmond-Klemme Community School District (411 10th Ave NE, Belmond, IA 50421).
Ginny, (pronounced gin nee, or as she would say “with the gin”) as she preferred to be called was born January 17, 1928 at her parents farm house in rural Lucas County Iowa. She was the seventh of 13 children born to O. Blanche Grimes and Carl C Patterson. Ginny was proud to be a 6th generation Iowan who had 9 ancestors arrive in Iowa between 1836-1856 and become residents. Her parents influence on truth, pride of self and education were her greatest inspiration.
Stories of her childhood would convince you that even during the depression, the family took time to work hard, get an education and have fun together. Ginny was graduated from Chariton High School in 1947 with a Normal Training Certificate. She spent three years teaching at two different rural schools with one of them at Cedar #1, or “Pershing” at which she taught three of her younger sisters. During the summer months she enrolled at Iowa State Teachers College, ISTC (a.k.a. University of Northern Iowa) taking classes to earn her two-year teaching certificate. After saving money by living at home and getting a loan from her grandmother, Ginny attended ISTC for the college year in the fall of 1950 then was graduated on June 2, 1951 with her two-year certificate. In 1962 she started attending evening courses at Elmhurst College to finish her Bachelor of Arts in 1969. After graduation she enrolled in evening courses at Northern Illinois University at DeKalb. She was graduated in 1971 with a Master of Science in Education.
Ginny was said to never let an opportunity pass her by so in the school year she was studying and working hard she had a few more dates than what she had living at home with her parents and siblings. When this guy from Chicago finally asked her out, she told her friends she was going out with him only long enough to get a trip to Chicago. He and/or the trip to Chicago convinced her to marry him. Ginny and Lee G. Wachenheim were married on June 3, 1951 after both graduating from ISTC the day before. They were married 50 years before his death one month later. During the summers after the wedding, they moved to Greeley, Colorado so Lee could get his Master’s in Education at Northern Colorado University. For the first three years they taught at Corning Schools and at one point Ginny was an 8th grade teacher and the Elementary Principal. Lee was offered a job at Guttenberg High School for the fall of 1954. He was recruited as an assistant wrestling and football coach at York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois for the fall of 1955.
James “Jim” was born on the first day of football practice in 1955 with Lee Ann coming two and a half years later. The family settled in Elmhurst in a house where Ginny and Lee lived for 30 years. Ginny stayed at home but kept busy volunteering in activities that interested her which were generally things that improved the lives of others. She was active in the Christ United Methodist Church (reaching Sunday School, founding and coordinating the “Coffeehouse” adult forum, assisted with Confirmation Classes, etc.), the Northern Illinois UM Conference (District Education Chair, Conference Education Committee member, etc.), Camp Fire Council of Greater DuPage, Lee Ann’s Camp Fire group leader, Elmhurst United Way, League of Women Voters of Elmhurst, DuPage County League of Women Voters, Business and Professional Women and was a Judge of Elections. She was the featured speaker welcoming newly naturalized citizens at the Federal Building in Chicago on May 1, 1976. She did become the Executive Director of the Camp Fire Council of Greater DuPage in 1976 and continued in that position until 1982.
Ginny and Lee enjoyed attending plays of all theatrical genres in Chicago, traveling, participating in play reading groups and following Jim and Lee Ann’s activities. Ginny was always supportive of Lee’s coaching – sometimes wanting to go down to the mats during meets to coach the York grapplers or maybe take over officiating herself! They continued to live in Elmhurst until 1991 when they decided to move to West Des Moines to be closer to their grandchildren. They continued a very active lifestyle but it was just mixed in with a lot more family activities. Ginny and Lee hosted the 1950 ISTC wrestling squad during the 1993 national meet in Ames. They attended Lee’s annual army reunions and Ginny continued to attend after Lee’s death enjoying the group so much she organized them to meet in Des Moines in 2002. Ginny and Lee moved to Belmond in 2000 after Lee Ann and her family moved to Belmond. She worked tirelessly for reproduction freedom (NARAL), Iowa Citizens Action Network Educational Foundation, Iowa River Players Community Theatre, Friends of the Talbot Belmond Public Library and as a 2nd Grade volunteer for Belmond-Klemme Community School District. Not surprising to those who knew Ginny is that lobbying was something Ginny enjoyed – because she was educating someone! She lobbied U. S. Congressional delegates on gun laws, choice and campaign finance; Illinois State senate and house members heard from her on choice and re-districting while Iowa State legislators heard about choice and hog confinements; but it all started in Elmhurst when she expressed her opinion on a railroad underpass, school district boundaries and redistricting and school closings.
Relationships and communications were paramount to Ginny. She worked very hard to have meaningful relationships with a number of her nieces and nephews and their spouses. These relationships meant more to her than most people understand. She wants to be remembered for whatever she meant to them through “thick and thin” (agreement and disagreement) because she loved them and was always there for them.
Ginny is survived by her children, James (Kimberly) Wachenheim of Oxford, Ohio; Lee Ann (John) Waltzing of Belmond; her grandchildren, Scott Waltzing (Noel Seawel) of Johnston, Iowa and their daughter Remi; Sarah (Nick) of Urbandale, Iowa and their daughter Lyla; Gretchen Wachenheim (Kyle Jones) of Cincinnati, Ohio and their son Osborne; and Hannah Wachenheim (Alex Ward) of Louisville, Kentucky; her sister Pat (James) Powers of Indianola, Iowa; her sister-in-law Gert Patterson; and more than 180 nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Ginny was preceded in death by her husband, Lee in 2001, her parents Blanche and Carl Patterson; eleven brothers and sisters; ten brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law; and, her parents-in-law, Marie and Walter Wachenheim.