Eugenia Hemeyer

Jeanne Hemeyer, 95, of Zion, Illinois passed away on July 14th. She was born in Columbia, Missouri, daughter of Benjamin H. and Laura Grace Wenkel. She grew up during the Great Depression, surviving on the family chicken farm, leaving her with a lifelong distaste for poultry. Jeanne was high school class valedictorian and later attended college in Warrensburg, MO. During WW2 she worked in a shoe factory and as a switchboard operator. Shortly after the end of World War II she married her high school beau, Wil Hemeyer, who preceded her in death in 2017. They enjoyed nearly 72 years of married life together. She leaves to cherish her memory her children: James (Anna) Hemeyer of Midland, Michigan; Kathryn (Tom) Miceli of Illinois; and Cheryl (Walter) Tanner of Naperville, Illinois. Also surviving are her beloved grandchildren Karen (Roger) Dastick, Debra (Mike) Brubaker, Linda (Bradley) Sprecher, Deanna (Tim) Osborn, and Phillip (Kelly) Tanner, and her great grandchildren Megan, Ethan, and Brendan Dastick, Jaclyn and Nathan Brubaker, Anna and Weston Sprecher, and Leif and Nancy Osborn. Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents, her stepmother Myrtle Hopkins Wenkel, her only sibling Harold Keith Wenkel, and her infant son Steven. Jeanne’s middle name, Holmes, was in honor of a Virginia ancestor and American Revolutionary War hero, Lieutenant Isaac Holmes, and hence she became a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Jeanne was employed for a number of years by the Waukegan North Chicago Credit Bureau as a credit reporter and then for 23 years by Sears Roebuck and Company in the personnel department and eventually as secretary to the manager of the Sears Training Center in Bannockburn, Illinois. In her retirement years she enjoyed traveling in groups with her husband, especially their Egypt-Israel trip in 1996. Jeanne was extremely proud of her grandchildren, sewing outfits for them, and passing on favorite family recipes. An avid reader, her leisure activity included being a devoted patron of the Zion-Benton Public Library. Another part-time activity pursued for at least a dozen years was working to alleviate hunger in Lake County by being a volunteer in the Free Meals Program of the First United Methodist Church, of which she was a member. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a private service with interment at North Shore Garden of Memories will be held. Memorials in Jeanne’s memory can be made to the Waukegan First United Methodist Church food program or to the charity of your choice.