Winifred (Wynne) Riedel Beaver, age 96, entered into eternal rest on July 13, 2024 in Waupaca, Wisconsin. Wynne, born in East Cleveland, Ohio on August 26, 1927, married Clifford Ralph Beaver on June 14, 1947. Their children are Bonnie Dayle Johansen-Werner (Duane Werner), Clifford Ralph Beaver, Jr., and Deborah Lee Clark (Thomas). Grandchildren are Matthew Johansen, Rebekah Johansen Ahrens (Mark), Jennifer Beaver Ali (Taher), Shannon Nowak (Drew), Mackenzie Manthe (Rick), and Morgan Kujawski. Great-Grandchildren are Victoria and Matthew Johansen; William and Henry Ahrens; Thomas, Isaiah, Samuel, Leo, Benedict, and Sebastian Nowak; and Jack Manthe. Wynne is also survived by her brother Kenneth Gleim Riedel and nieces and nephews. Wynne was pre-deceased by her parents Henry Michael Jacob Riedel and Winnie Bryan Thurmond Riedel, plus her grandchildren Elizabeth Ann and Amy Joy Johansen, and by the father of her children, Clifford Beaver. She is additionally survived by her former son-in-law Thomas Kujawski, and special friends Ann Tschantz and Stan Kelderman.
Wynne, as a dedicated wife and mother, was a Brownie and Girl Scout Leader, Sunday School teacher and later superintendent, VBS teacher, Senior warden at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Waupaca, driver of the chase car for her son (and friends) bicycle excursions in Northern Illinois, appreciative audience and critic for her musician daughter (post-concert critique: “your hair is in your eyes” on stage), and Scout leader and chauffeur for her horseback riding younger daughter.
Wynne never forgot the advanced sewing techniques she learned at Glenville High School where she made a sophisticated wool suit that was “baptized” with a bucket of water by her rascally brother on it’s first wearing. Later she made her own clothes, including coats, and wedding dresses for both daughters. The skills continued on through the family, including for granddaughter Rebekah who made her own wedding dress. For daughter Bonnie, each August 1st signaled the time to go to the fabric store to buy material and patterns to make her own clothes for the school year.
Sometimes Wynne’s creativity went overboard. When grandson Matthew had the hiccups, she sent him to get a book. When he returned she sprang out at him to scare the hiccups away. Decades later he remembers his 4 year old self being scared to tears as both grandmother and mother apologized for scaring him so badly, while helplessly laughing at his reaction! (The hiccups were gone, though!)
From her mother, Winifred, Wynne learned the skills of gracious entertaining which she put to use hosting delightful dinner parties for clients of her husband, Cliff, and later when she worked first as the Gift Department director for Tobin Drug Store in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin and then as a Marketing Representative for Mahon Marketing, covering much of the state of Wisconsin for the Elgin, Illinois based company. To the end Wynne was concerned with being an hospitable hostess. Three days before her death, she and her daughter debated putting her sofa in her nursing home room so people would have a comfortable place to sit (“it won’t fit mom!” “So, can I get a bigger room?”). A stickler for details, Wynne carefully wanted to edit Biblical passages for her funeral. She was happy with Psalm 23 if we deleted “He maketh me lie down in green pastures,” because she thought that sounded like no fun at all. (She was allergic to grass; maybe that explains this?)
Wynne was an artistic crafter. Christmas decorations were unique every year. Decorative, lighted front doors greeted guests each holiday season. Tasteful, new items might appear on the mantle, or candles were made with her children, always accompanied by traditional pieces and the family creche. Other creations appeared throughout the year. She created a lamp out of an old pump and her son told his friends “don’t stand still at our house or my mother will turn you into a lamp!”
Wynne loved music, particularly vocal music. She attended her first opera soon after WWII when the Metropolitan Opera performed in Cleveland. She was hooked. When she was in the hospital earlier this year, having her stomach pumped at age 96, we finally got her public radio station tuned in. When the Saturday opera broadcast began she exclaimed “Oh, isn’t that a lovely voice!” She also loved musicals. Granddaughters Shannon and Rebekah remember learning songs from her Broadway tapes and CDs. Rebekah says she still knows almost all the words to “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” from riding with her grandmother. Friends of her children remember sing-a-longs at the house in high school. Bonnie’s friends remember Wynne always welcoming them.
Mom drove her kids to everything! School (picking up friends along the way), music lessons, band, choir, athletics, parade performances, horseback riding, football games. I once commented that maybe I should walk to school more frequently and she said “you get plenty of exercise. That is potential learning time and I want you to have as much time as possible to learn.” She drove the ski boat for her son which included a brief appearance on WGN News…. daughter Bonnie never saw this and it still amazes me to think of my mom driving a ski boat!
Wynne calmly endured phone calls from far away National Park Rangers saying her son was lost in a July snow storm. Another time, when his feet were solidly frozen on an Appalachian hike, she was there to nurse him back to health. (There is a book here, if we can convince son Cliff to write it.)
Vacations were special events for Wynne. As youngsters, she and her brother, Ken, traveled alone by train from Ohio to Kentucky to spend the summer with relatives. Once she married, family vacations always included an educational benefit for the children. After children were grown she loved resuming visits to her Kentucky family. Later in life, at age 88, she traveled with her friend Ann on Amtrak to Seattle. They got off the train to eat and then boarded the next train to return home. The scenery was the journey! At 91 she and Ann traveled to New Orleans. And at age 95 she was pestering Ann about planning another trip. She was sure she could get up the train steps, but admitted she could probably not get to the dining car.
Donations may be made to Wisconsin Public Radio, which sustained her when her blindness prevented her from reading or watching television, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Waupaca, Wisconsin, which nurtured her, and in thanks for the visits of Mother Julia Hendrix.