Tri-County Woman of the Year

Wiesenberg ‘known’ for quiet demeanor

By Jim Metcalfe, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Tuesday, January 2, 2007 (2 years ago)
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Elizabeth “Betty” Wiesenberg was named The Delphos Herald’s 2006 Tri-County Woman of the Year.DELPHOS — We don’t always recognize the good that people do until after they have left us.

One such person was Elizabeth “Betty” Wiesenberg, The Delphos Herald’s Tri-County Woman of the Year for 2006.

In the words of those that knew her, she would have wanted it that way.

“She didn’t seek the headlines or the fanfare; she was just so humble a woman,” Frances Grothouse said. “She was involved with the Red Cross Bloodmobile for over 40 years: she would go to the local businesses to get them to donate items and she also rounded up the volunteers. She was a presiding judge for the elections board at the United Methodist Church precinct for years, which is where I mostly worked with her.

“She belonged to so many organizations, like the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and the Catholic Ladies of Columbia. It seemed that if someone needed a volunteer, she would be there.”

What motivated Wiesenberg to be so involved?

In her own words from an interview several years ago, her reasons for volunteering were brief and to the point: “Somebody asked me. If somebody asks you to volunteer, you just can’t say no, especially if it’s something that’s needed. If they really need help, you feel like you really have to help them.”

That is what got her started in the American Red Cross and later, at St. Rita’s Medical Center, first in the gift shop and then the coffee cart, which would last 25 years. She also volunteered for the St. Rita’s Auxiliary.

“It means quite a bit (working for the Red Cross); you really feel like you’re helping somebody. It’s very rewarding; I don’t know what’s more important than saving lives,” she commented in that same interview.

Robert Schmit knew her and her late husband, Bill (who died Feb. 3, 1994), as next-door neighbors for 50 years.

“They were both that way, constantly helping and volunteering. When she saw a need, she was the first one to give of herself,” he began. “She never promoted herself; in fact, she would probably be a little embarrassed by this recognition because it was not what she was about.

“Our kids took to calling them Uncle Bill and Aunt Betty because they were genuinely concerned about others; they were like family.”

Even as she slowed down some in recent years, that spirit of generosity was there until the end.

“Even in death, she thought of others; she donated her entire body to the Medical College of Ohio for medical research. She just didn’t know how to say ‘no’ when someone asked,” Schmit continued.

He spoke of the times they had as part of the neighborhood and friendship.

“We had our back-yard cookouts and she was always the first to provide something. Later on, we called ourselves ‘The Road Runners’; every third Tuesday of the month, we’d go out to eat and that even included November,” he explained. “We saw her and Bill — and they us — through the good times and the bad.

“As far as I can remember, she and Bill never really talked about why they did all they did; they just saw the need and did what they could to address it.”

Wiesenberg died Dec. 3 at the age of 83. That remains fresh in the mind of her only son, Bill Jr.

“It’s hard to talk about because it’s been only three weeks or so. Still, I think this is a fantastic honor,” he began.

The volunteerism was passed down from parents to son.

“I always remember Mom as that way; that’s just the way she was. I don’t remember her not volunteering for something,” he continued. “Even when I was in school, I was helping her; I didn’t have much ‘choice.’ She didn’t talk about it a lot and she never pushed herself onto anyone; it was just part of who she was. She was one to get things done.”

Betty (McGuane) Wiesenberg was a Toledo native who was born June 4, 1923, to Michael and Bertha McGuane. She has one sister, Jean Haddad, a resident of Toledo. She attended the all-girls St. Ursula Academy. On Nov. 20, 1948, she married Bill Wiesenberg and their son was born a year later. When her husband was offered a job at Westinghouse in Lima, they moved to Delphos; they remained.

They are grandparents to three: Erika (Ryan) Kies of Florida; Liz Wiesenberg of Indianapolis; and Derick Wiesenberg of Toledo.

“She was always calling about the kids, wondering how they were doing. She did that for the whole neighborhood,” her son recalled. “She even took care of me for the last month of her life; I broke my leg in early November and when she fell, I couldn’t help her. It’s pretty painful for me.”

She also has six nieces: Minday Wall, Cindy Hopkins, Barb Haddad, Holly Haddad, Nancy Bennet and Mary Jo Hagey.

A member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Betty Wiesenberg worked at Betty Jane Dress Shop for 15 years.

It wasn’t all work for her. She enjoyed gardening — being a member of the Delphos Garden Club — and playing bridge at the Delphos Senior Citizens Center. She was also a member of the Monday Morning Bible Group in the parish and the Associates of the Sisters of Notre Dame.

In the final analysis, all three could agree on this about the honoree: she was kind, gentle and humble.

A fitting description for the Tri-County Woman of the Year.

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