Erna Wiedling's Strong Will Kept Her Going Against Much Adversity

Erna Wiedling was a determined woman. Separated from her daughter for two years while World War II raged in her native Germany, Mrs. Wiedling made a long, difficult trip to retrieve her at the war's end. They traveled on foot and on coal trucks for 50 miles until they arrived in their hometown of Kassel, Germany.

"When we passed the American guard posts, she told me to be very nice and say `Good morning,' " recalled her daughter, Helga Wills, 68.

Mrs. Wiedling's strong will never left her, even after her husband committed suicide in 1938. "She was the one who kept her whole family alive," Wills said. "We were practically starving, but she was very caring, energetic and never lost faith."

Mrs. Wiedling eventually moved to Renton to live with Wills in 1958. She looked after Wills' sons, Steve and Gordon Wilmarth, while both parents worked.

Mrs. Wiedling was a terrific cook, a pianist, and loved to embroider and knit. She loved to laugh, enjoyed family gatherings and was very opinionated, said Christie Wilmarth, Steve Wilmarth's wife.

"She was the matriarch of the family, and everyone knew it," she added.

Mrs. Wiedling died last Saturday (July 17) of natural causes. She was 95.

Mrs. Wiedling attended Frauenschule College in Germany for two years. In 1922, she became engaged to Paul Wiedling and married him seven years later.

After her daughter moved to America, Mrs. Wiedling worked in American Army barracks kitchens, a coffee shop and her father-in-law's liquor store. Most of her life, however, was devoted to her family.

She received her American citizenship in 1998, 40 years after arriving in America.

"She was never quite willing to give up her German citizenship," explained her daughter.

However, her family talked her into becoming a citizen, and she was so determined at that point that Immigration and Naturalization Service officials came to the Bellevue caregiver's home in which she resided to administer the citizenship test.

She made herself a goal to memorize the Lord's Prayer in English, even when she didn't speak much of the language at the time. The prayer still sits in her German Bible.

Her hobbies included playing classical music on the piano; she started at age 7 and continued until her body would not allow her to. She knitted and embroidered beautiful tablecloths and knit hangers and wash rags for relatives.

"She had a beautiful smile," Christie Wilmarth said. "It would just melt your heart."

Other survivors include her sister, Liesel Liebau in Kassel, Germany; son-in-law Wesley Wills of Renton; granddaughter-in-law Kathy Wilmarth of Port Orchard; and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at Steve and Christie Wilmarth's home in Kirkland on Monday at 1 p.m.

Donations may go to any charity.