Iris Ann Wick Weiler
August 30, 1936 - June 23, 2022
(nee Amend) Passed away peacefully surrounded by the love of her family at HarborChase, in Shorewood, WI on Thursday, June 23, 2022. She is finally free to join her Lord and the loved ones who have preceded her after bravely enduring Alzheimer's for several years.
Iris Ann Amend was delivered on August 30, 1936 in Alma, MI to young parents, Ken and Iris May Amend. Born premature, and very small, the nuns mistook her for beyond saving and turned their attention to her mother. Upon the realization that she was alive, the nurses created a makeshift incubator with water bottles and light bulbs. This contraption burned her tiny body and she wore the permanent scar like a medal. Against all odds, Iris was a survivor. This trait endured. One year later, Iris was joined by her sister and her best friend for life, Kay. While the Great Depression came to a close, and their parents sought fortune, the girls were sent to live with their grandmother, Mimi Gordon in Wyocena, WI.
Mimi was a blue blood Protestant woman whose daughter fell in love with a Catholic man. Iris Ann always remembered her grandmother's determination to respect the faith path chosen by her daughter. This tolerance and respect influenced the women Iris and Kay would some day become. Eventually, the family found their home on the south side of Milwaukee, WI. Her parents had a son and three more daughters; the family settled in the St. Sebastian's neighborhood of Washington Heights. Iris attended Pius XI High School and graduated in 1954. After graduating, she took a job with Wisconsin Bell and fell in love with a strapping Korean War veteran, Dave Wick. The two were inseparable and married in 1958. While the passion was unmistakable and the union created five daughters in six years….and a sixth sister four years later, the pair in the end was better parted for the sake of peace in the household.
And then it was seven females making their way. It was the mere advent of the Women's Liberation movement in 1969; a single woman with six girls to raise was quite rare. Iris quickly set about blazing the trail for her progeny. She sent Sarah off to Neeskara for Kindergarten, the four older girls to St. Seb's, and dropped Kate off at daycare. Then she raced to nursing school at MATC. She earned her RN and took her first job at St. Mary's hospital. From there, it was full steam ahead. She rose to the position of Supervisor at St. Mary's and was later recruited by a new little teaching hospital called Froedtert Lutheran. She continued to rise through the ranks. She returned to school earning her BA in Administration and became the Director of 4NE. Iris made countless friends and influenced hundreds of families while she practiced professionalism with compassion.
Alongside her career, there was a family to be raised and a life to be lived. Iris managed it all. She baked bread, made jam, canned anything that could stand the process. She taught her girls how to cook, iron, and clean because it was a team effort. And she could sew. Iris was a master seamstress whose dresses were so perfect you could wear them inside out. She played the best music, wore the grooviest clothes, and dragged the family to popular concerts and the most important demonstrations of the day. She introduced un-talked-about topics at the kitchen table and hung a poster of MLK Jr. in the living room so the world could see the character of the family inside. Iris said, "We are never above any people, but we are above the actions of some unjust people."
She had a loud bark and was a swift disciplinarian but she gave safe and forgiving sanctuary to any accountable party. She offered parenting services to anyone in her presence. And while correction from Iris was not always welcomed, her shoulders were strong and her embrace was reassuring and warm.
As her girls became women, she delighted in the fruits of her labor. Iris encouraged each to find her unique place in the world. Her greatest reward was witnessing the bond that held her girls tight to each other while becoming individual women. She thought that joy had come complete with the birth of her children's children. She hopped from house to house to be called her sweetest title of all, "Grandma Iris." And still, there was more joy to come.
In the late 1990's Iris was introduced to an interesting and interested man by her cousin Margo. He was new to Milwaukee and she thought the two might have common passions. She was correct. That was with one exception. Iris never cared much for watching professional baseball, and he was a former catcher for the Yankees. Iris and Greg Weiler fell quickly in love and married in 1998. Two families gained each other. The couple spent more than two decades exploring the arts, traveling the world and making a fine host of friends. If love could spare any person's suffering, Iris would never have endured what was to come. But alas all who loved her began to lose the woman they once knew. Alzheimer's is an insidious affliction that does not discriminate. It bleeds dry the sufferer and threatens to dismantle the spirit of every loving onlooker. But Iris had cast seeds that grew strong vines. Intertwined, and with the strength of the next generation, her legacy stood strong. They clung to each other as they walked through a most devastating chapter to its conclusion. Iris smiles in peace at the family she has made and the world she has changed.
In her happy days, Iris was a curious traveler, an avid reader, card player and consumer of the Fine Arts. Her zest for life was contagious and inspirational. For her, every experience was richer with company. She loved Bridge Club (Beavers), Sheepshead, and meeting with her Bookclub. She was a reviewer and judge for the Milwaukee Film Festival. After retirement she spent time visiting hospice patients and their families, driving her fast car and spending time with her favorite people, family.
Greg moved along before Iris in the spring 2020, perhaps to queue up a movie or assemble an orchestra welcoming Iris to the Great Beyond alongside her loved ones gone before. She will be sorely missed. But we are most certain that we will dine, sing and dance with Iris Ann again. We Love You Mom!
The road of Alzheimer's is long and bumpy. We thank the endless list of practitioners who made smoother the journey. Thanks especially to Dr. Terese Anderle for your tailored care, your faith in our family and a safe place on your couch. Iris' family will forever be grateful to the staffs of HarborChase Memory Care and Brighton Hospice. Your love for Iris allowed us to sleep at night and then face the coming day. In her final days, you created the most perfect place for us to say farewell in the company of her fellow resident friends. Your smiles, hugs and the attention to learn all of our names meant that you not only cared for our mother, you sincerely loved her. You are truly earth angels. Special thanks to Fr. Enrique Hernandez who was there in our family's hour of need. You are hope for the weary.
Those welcoming Iris into Paradise include her beloved Greg Weiler, her parents Kenneth and Iris May Amend, her sister Kathleen Grotelueschen, three grandchildren Martin, Mary Helen and Robert DeGroot, and many other friends and extended family.
She is lovingly remembered by the six women she brought into this world, Heidi (Brian) Spoerl, Gretchen (Robert Schafer) Wick, Elizabeth "Libby" (Mark Metcalf) Wick, Martha Wick, Sarah (Daniel) DeGroot, and Kate (Ned) Neitzel. Grandma Iris will be missed by her grandchildren, Molly, Samuel and John Spoerl, Grace Wick, Ken and Eamonn Eckert, Julius Metcalf, Olivia Wick Bander, Jack, Teddy and Joe DeGroot, and Noah and Amelia Neitzel; and her three great-grandchildren Henry, Charlotte, and Salem.
Iris loved her stepchildren as her own: Michael, Stephen, Muffy and Monica Weiler, and their children: Colleen, Rebecca, Avery, Courtney and Dominic. Her family was her world.
Iris is further survived by her brother Ken (Maureen) Amend and her sisters Connie Januzzi, Debbie (William) Volm, and Jenny (John) McIntyre.
The family will receive guests for visitation from 11:30AM to 2:30PM on Wednesday, July 13th, at Feerick Funeral Home, 2025 E Capitol Drive, Shorewood, WI 53211. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 3:00PM, Wednesday, July 13th, at St Robert's Catholic Church, 2200 East Capitol Drive, Shorewood WI 53211 with Rev Enrique Hernandez officiating. Eulogies will take place prior to the Mass, beginning at 2:50PM.
To honor her memory, in lieu of flowers, we encourage donations to the Alzheimer's Association.
https://www.feerickfuneralhome.com/obituary/iris-ann-wick-weiler?fh_id=14932
August 30, 1936 - June 23, 2022
(nee Amend) Passed away peacefully surrounded by the love of her family at HarborChase, in Shorewood, WI on Thursday, June 23, 2022. She is finally free to join her Lord and the loved ones who have preceded her after bravely enduring Alzheimer's for several years.
Iris Ann Amend was delivered on August 30, 1936 in Alma, MI to young parents, Ken and Iris May Amend. Born premature, and very small, the nuns mistook her for beyond saving and turned their attention to her mother. Upon the realization that she was alive, the nurses created a makeshift incubator with water bottles and light bulbs. This contraption burned her tiny body and she wore the permanent scar like a medal. Against all odds, Iris was a survivor. This trait endured. One year later, Iris was joined by her sister and her best friend for life, Kay. While the Great Depression came to a close, and their parents sought fortune, the girls were sent to live with their grandmother, Mimi Gordon in Wyocena, WI.
Mimi was a blue blood Protestant woman whose daughter fell in love with a Catholic man. Iris Ann always remembered her grandmother's determination to respect the faith path chosen by her daughter. This tolerance and respect influenced the women Iris and Kay would some day become. Eventually, the family found their home on the south side of Milwaukee, WI. Her parents had a son and three more daughters; the family settled in the St. Sebastian's neighborhood of Washington Heights. Iris attended Pius XI High School and graduated in 1954. After graduating, she took a job with Wisconsin Bell and fell in love with a strapping Korean War veteran, Dave Wick. The two were inseparable and married in 1958. While the passion was unmistakable and the union created five daughters in six years….and a sixth sister four years later, the pair in the end was better parted for the sake of peace in the household.
And then it was seven females making their way. It was the mere advent of the Women's Liberation movement in 1969; a single woman with six girls to raise was quite rare. Iris quickly set about blazing the trail for her progeny. She sent Sarah off to Neeskara for Kindergarten, the four older girls to St. Seb's, and dropped Kate off at daycare. Then she raced to nursing school at MATC. She earned her RN and took her first job at St. Mary's hospital. From there, it was full steam ahead. She rose to the position of Supervisor at St. Mary's and was later recruited by a new little teaching hospital called Froedtert Lutheran. She continued to rise through the ranks. She returned to school earning her BA in Administration and became the Director of 4NE. Iris made countless friends and influenced hundreds of families while she practiced professionalism with compassion.
Alongside her career, there was a family to be raised and a life to be lived. Iris managed it all. She baked bread, made jam, canned anything that could stand the process. She taught her girls how to cook, iron, and clean because it was a team effort. And she could sew. Iris was a master seamstress whose dresses were so perfect you could wear them inside out. She played the best music, wore the grooviest clothes, and dragged the family to popular concerts and the most important demonstrations of the day. She introduced un-talked-about topics at the kitchen table and hung a poster of MLK Jr. in the living room so the world could see the character of the family inside. Iris said, "We are never above any people, but we are above the actions of some unjust people."
She had a loud bark and was a swift disciplinarian but she gave safe and forgiving sanctuary to any accountable party. She offered parenting services to anyone in her presence. And while correction from Iris was not always welcomed, her shoulders were strong and her embrace was reassuring and warm.
As her girls became women, she delighted in the fruits of her labor. Iris encouraged each to find her unique place in the world. Her greatest reward was witnessing the bond that held her girls tight to each other while becoming individual women. She thought that joy had come complete with the birth of her children's children. She hopped from house to house to be called her sweetest title of all, "Grandma Iris." And still, there was more joy to come.
In the late 1990's Iris was introduced to an interesting and interested man by her cousin Margo. He was new to Milwaukee and she thought the two might have common passions. She was correct. That was with one exception. Iris never cared much for watching professional baseball, and he was a former catcher for the Yankees. Iris and Greg Weiler fell quickly in love and married in 1998. Two families gained each other. The couple spent more than two decades exploring the arts, traveling the world and making a fine host of friends. If love could spare any person's suffering, Iris would never have endured what was to come. But alas all who loved her began to lose the woman they once knew. Alzheimer's is an insidious affliction that does not discriminate. It bleeds dry the sufferer and threatens to dismantle the spirit of every loving onlooker. But Iris had cast seeds that grew strong vines. Intertwined, and with the strength of the next generation, her legacy stood strong. They clung to each other as they walked through a most devastating chapter to its conclusion. Iris smiles in peace at the family she has made and the world she has changed.
In her happy days, Iris was a curious traveler, an avid reader, card player and consumer of the Fine Arts. Her zest for life was contagious and inspirational. For her, every experience was richer with company. She loved Bridge Club (Beavers), Sheepshead, and meeting with her Bookclub. She was a reviewer and judge for the Milwaukee Film Festival. After retirement she spent time visiting hospice patients and their families, driving her fast car and spending time with her favorite people, family.
Greg moved along before Iris in the spring 2020, perhaps to queue up a movie or assemble an orchestra welcoming Iris to the Great Beyond alongside her loved ones gone before. She will be sorely missed. But we are most certain that we will dine, sing and dance with Iris Ann again. We Love You Mom!
The road of Alzheimer's is long and bumpy. We thank the endless list of practitioners who made smoother the journey. Thanks especially to Dr. Terese Anderle for your tailored care, your faith in our family and a safe place on your couch. Iris' family will forever be grateful to the staffs of HarborChase Memory Care and Brighton Hospice. Your love for Iris allowed us to sleep at night and then face the coming day. In her final days, you created the most perfect place for us to say farewell in the company of her fellow resident friends. Your smiles, hugs and the attention to learn all of our names meant that you not only cared for our mother, you sincerely loved her. You are truly earth angels. Special thanks to Fr. Enrique Hernandez who was there in our family's hour of need. You are hope for the weary.
Those welcoming Iris into Paradise include her beloved Greg Weiler, her parents Kenneth and Iris May Amend, her sister Kathleen Grotelueschen, three grandchildren Martin, Mary Helen and Robert DeGroot, and many other friends and extended family.
She is lovingly remembered by the six women she brought into this world, Heidi (Brian) Spoerl, Gretchen (Robert Schafer) Wick, Elizabeth "Libby" (Mark Metcalf) Wick, Martha Wick, Sarah (Daniel) DeGroot, and Kate (Ned) Neitzel. Grandma Iris will be missed by her grandchildren, Molly, Samuel and John Spoerl, Grace Wick, Ken and Eamonn Eckert, Julius Metcalf, Olivia Wick Bander, Jack, Teddy and Joe DeGroot, and Noah and Amelia Neitzel; and her three great-grandchildren Henry, Charlotte, and Salem.
Iris loved her stepchildren as her own: Michael, Stephen, Muffy and Monica Weiler, and their children: Colleen, Rebecca, Avery, Courtney and Dominic. Her family was her world.
Iris is further survived by her brother Ken (Maureen) Amend and her sisters Connie Januzzi, Debbie (William) Volm, and Jenny (John) McIntyre.
The family will receive guests for visitation from 11:30AM to 2:30PM on Wednesday, July 13th, at Feerick Funeral Home, 2025 E Capitol Drive, Shorewood, WI 53211. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 3:00PM, Wednesday, July 13th, at St Robert's Catholic Church, 2200 East Capitol Drive, Shorewood WI 53211 with Rev Enrique Hernandez officiating. Eulogies will take place prior to the Mass, beginning at 2:50PM.
To honor her memory, in lieu of flowers, we encourage donations to the Alzheimer's Association.
https://www.feerickfuneralhome.com/obituary/iris-ann-wick-weiler?fh_id=14932
Iris Ann Wick Weiler
August 30, 1936 - June 23, 2022
(nee Amend) Passed away peacefully surrounded by the love of her family at HarborChase, in Shorewood, WI on Thursday, June 23, 2022. She is finally free to join her Lord and the loved ones who have preceded her after bravely enduring Alzheimer's for several years.
Iris Ann Amend was delivered on August 30, 1936 in Alma, MI to young parents, Ken and Iris May Amend. Born premature, and very small, the nuns mistook her for beyond saving and turned their attention to her mother. Upon the realization that she was alive, the nurses created a makeshift incubator with water bottles and light bulbs. This contraption burned her tiny body and she wore the permanent scar like a medal. Against all odds, Iris was a survivor. This trait endured. One year later, Iris was joined by her sister and her best friend for life, Kay. While the Great Depression came to a close, and their parents sought fortune, the girls were sent to live with their grandmother, Mimi Gordon in Wyocena, WI.
Mimi was a blue blood Protestant woman whose daughter fell in love with a Catholic man. Iris Ann always remembered her grandmother's determination to respect the faith path chosen by her daughter. This tolerance and respect influenced the women Iris and Kay would some day become. Eventually, the family found their home on the south side of Milwaukee, WI. Her parents had a son and three more daughters; the family settled in the St. Sebastian's neighborhood of Washington Heights. Iris attended Pius XI High School and graduated in 1954. After graduating, she took a job with Wisconsin Bell and fell in love with a strapping Korean War veteran, Dave Wick. The two were inseparable and married in 1958. While the passion was unmistakable and the union created five daughters in six years….and a sixth sister four years later, the pair in the end was better parted for the sake of peace in the household.
And then it was seven females making their way. It was the mere advent of the Women's Liberation movement in 1969; a single woman with six girls to raise was quite rare. Iris quickly set about blazing the trail for her progeny. She sent Sarah off to Neeskara for Kindergarten, the four older girls to St. Seb's, and dropped Kate off at daycare. Then she raced to nursing school at MATC. She earned her RN and took her first job at St. Mary's hospital. From there, it was full steam ahead. She rose to the position of Supervisor at St. Mary's and was later recruited by a new little teaching hospital called Froedtert Lutheran. She continued to rise through the ranks. She returned to school earning her BA in Administration and became the Director of 4NE. Iris made countless friends and influenced hundreds of families while she practiced professionalism with compassion.
Alongside her career, there was a family to be raised and a life to be lived. Iris managed it all. She baked bread, made jam, canned anything that could stand the process. She taught her girls how to cook, iron, and clean because it was a team effort. And she could sew. Iris was a master seamstress whose dresses were so perfect you could wear them inside out. She played the best music, wore the grooviest clothes, and dragged the family to popular concerts and the most important demonstrations of the day. She introduced un-talked-about topics at the kitchen table and hung a poster of MLK Jr. in the living room so the world could see the character of the family inside. Iris said, "We are never above any people, but we are above the actions of some unjust people."
She had a loud bark and was a swift disciplinarian but she gave safe and forgiving sanctuary to any accountable party. She offered parenting services to anyone in her presence. And while correction from Iris was not always welcomed, her shoulders were strong and her embrace was reassuring and warm.
As her girls became women, she delighted in the fruits of her labor. Iris encouraged each to find her unique place in the world. Her greatest reward was witnessing the bond that held her girls tight to each other while becoming individual women. She thought that joy had come complete with the birth of her children's children. She hopped from house to house to be called her sweetest title of all, "Grandma Iris." And still, there was more joy to come.
In the late 1990's Iris was introduced to an interesting and interested man by her cousin Margo. He was new to Milwaukee and she thought the two might have common passions. She was correct. That was with one exception. Iris never cared much for watching professional baseball, and he was a former catcher for the Yankees. Iris and Greg Weiler fell quickly in love and married in 1998. Two families gained each other. The couple spent more than two decades exploring the arts, traveling the world and making a fine host of friends. If love could spare any person's suffering, Iris would never have endured what was to come. But alas all who loved her began to lose the woman they once knew. Alzheimer's is an insidious affliction that does not discriminate. It bleeds dry the sufferer and threatens to dismantle the spirit of every loving onlooker. But Iris had cast seeds that grew strong vines. Intertwined, and with the strength of the next generation, her legacy stood strong. They clung to each other as they walked through a most devastating chapter to its conclusion. Iris smiles in peace at the family she has made and the world she has changed.
In her happy days, Iris was a curious traveler, an avid reader, card player and consumer of the Fine Arts. Her zest for life was contagious and inspirational. For her, every experience was richer with company. She loved Bridge Club (Beavers), Sheepshead, and meeting with her Bookclub. She was a reviewer and judge for the Milwaukee Film Festival. After retirement she spent time visiting hospice patients and their families, driving her fast car and spending time with her favorite people, family.
Greg moved along before Iris in the spring 2020, perhaps to queue up a movie or assemble an orchestra welcoming Iris to the Great Beyond alongside her loved ones gone before. She will be sorely missed. But we are most certain that we will dine, sing and dance with Iris Ann again. We Love You Mom!
The road of Alzheimer's is long and bumpy. We thank the endless list of practitioners who made smoother the journey. Thanks especially to Dr. Terese Anderle for your tailored care, your faith in our family and a safe place on your couch. Iris' family will forever be grateful to the staffs of HarborChase Memory Care and Brighton Hospice. Your love for Iris allowed us to sleep at night and then face the coming day. In her final days, you created the most perfect place for us to say farewell in the company of her fellow resident friends. Your smiles, hugs and the attention to learn all of our names meant that you not only cared for our mother, you sincerely loved her. You are truly earth angels. Special thanks to Fr. Enrique Hernandez who was there in our family's hour of need. You are hope for the weary.
Those welcoming Iris into Paradise include her beloved Greg Weiler, her parents Kenneth and Iris May Amend, her sister Kathleen Grotelueschen, three grandchildren Martin, Mary Helen and Robert DeGroot, and many other friends and extended family.
She is lovingly remembered by the six women she brought into this world, Heidi (Brian) Spoerl, Gretchen (Robert Schafer) Wick, Elizabeth "Libby" (Mark Metcalf) Wick, Martha Wick, Sarah (Daniel) DeGroot, and Kate (Ned) Neitzel. Grandma Iris will be missed by her grandchildren, Molly, Samuel and John Spoerl, Grace Wick, Ken and Eamonn Eckert, Julius Metcalf, Olivia Wick Bander, Jack, Teddy and Joe DeGroot, and Noah and Amelia Neitzel; and her three great-grandchildren Henry, Charlotte, and Salem.
Iris loved her stepchildren as her own: Michael, Stephen, Muffy and Monica Weiler, and their children: Colleen, Rebecca, Avery, Courtney and Dominic. Her family was her world.
Iris is further survived by her brother Ken (Maureen) Amend and her sisters Connie Januzzi, Debbie (William) Volm, and Jenny (John) McIntyre.
The family will receive guests for visitation from 11:30AM to 2:30PM on Wednesday, July 13th, at Feerick Funeral Home, 2025 E Capitol Drive, Shorewood, WI 53211. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 3:00PM, Wednesday, July 13th, at St Robert's Catholic Church, 2200 East Capitol Drive, Shorewood WI 53211 with Rev Enrique Hernandez officiating. Eulogies will take place prior to the Mass, beginning at 2:50PM.
To honor her memory, in lieu of flowers, we encourage donations to the Alzheimer's Association.
https://www.feerickfuneralhome.com/obituary/iris-ann-wick-weiler?fh_id=14932
August 30, 1936 - June 23, 2022
(nee Amend) Passed away peacefully surrounded by the love of her family at HarborChase, in Shorewood, WI on Thursday, June 23, 2022. She is finally free to join her Lord and the loved ones who have preceded her after bravely enduring Alzheimer's for several years.
Iris Ann Amend was delivered on August 30, 1936 in Alma, MI to young parents, Ken and Iris May Amend. Born premature, and very small, the nuns mistook her for beyond saving and turned their attention to her mother. Upon the realization that she was alive, the nurses created a makeshift incubator with water bottles and light bulbs. This contraption burned her tiny body and she wore the permanent scar like a medal. Against all odds, Iris was a survivor. This trait endured. One year later, Iris was joined by her sister and her best friend for life, Kay. While the Great Depression came to a close, and their parents sought fortune, the girls were sent to live with their grandmother, Mimi Gordon in Wyocena, WI.
Mimi was a blue blood Protestant woman whose daughter fell in love with a Catholic man. Iris Ann always remembered her grandmother's determination to respect the faith path chosen by her daughter. This tolerance and respect influenced the women Iris and Kay would some day become. Eventually, the family found their home on the south side of Milwaukee, WI. Her parents had a son and three more daughters; the family settled in the St. Sebastian's neighborhood of Washington Heights. Iris attended Pius XI High School and graduated in 1954. After graduating, she took a job with Wisconsin Bell and fell in love with a strapping Korean War veteran, Dave Wick. The two were inseparable and married in 1958. While the passion was unmistakable and the union created five daughters in six years….and a sixth sister four years later, the pair in the end was better parted for the sake of peace in the household.
And then it was seven females making their way. It was the mere advent of the Women's Liberation movement in 1969; a single woman with six girls to raise was quite rare. Iris quickly set about blazing the trail for her progeny. She sent Sarah off to Neeskara for Kindergarten, the four older girls to St. Seb's, and dropped Kate off at daycare. Then she raced to nursing school at MATC. She earned her RN and took her first job at St. Mary's hospital. From there, it was full steam ahead. She rose to the position of Supervisor at St. Mary's and was later recruited by a new little teaching hospital called Froedtert Lutheran. She continued to rise through the ranks. She returned to school earning her BA in Administration and became the Director of 4NE. Iris made countless friends and influenced hundreds of families while she practiced professionalism with compassion.
Alongside her career, there was a family to be raised and a life to be lived. Iris managed it all. She baked bread, made jam, canned anything that could stand the process. She taught her girls how to cook, iron, and clean because it was a team effort. And she could sew. Iris was a master seamstress whose dresses were so perfect you could wear them inside out. She played the best music, wore the grooviest clothes, and dragged the family to popular concerts and the most important demonstrations of the day. She introduced un-talked-about topics at the kitchen table and hung a poster of MLK Jr. in the living room so the world could see the character of the family inside. Iris said, "We are never above any people, but we are above the actions of some unjust people."
She had a loud bark and was a swift disciplinarian but she gave safe and forgiving sanctuary to any accountable party. She offered parenting services to anyone in her presence. And while correction from Iris was not always welcomed, her shoulders were strong and her embrace was reassuring and warm.
As her girls became women, she delighted in the fruits of her labor. Iris encouraged each to find her unique place in the world. Her greatest reward was witnessing the bond that held her girls tight to each other while becoming individual women. She thought that joy had come complete with the birth of her children's children. She hopped from house to house to be called her sweetest title of all, "Grandma Iris." And still, there was more joy to come.
In the late 1990's Iris was introduced to an interesting and interested man by her cousin Margo. He was new to Milwaukee and she thought the two might have common passions. She was correct. That was with one exception. Iris never cared much for watching professional baseball, and he was a former catcher for the Yankees. Iris and Greg Weiler fell quickly in love and married in 1998. Two families gained each other. The couple spent more than two decades exploring the arts, traveling the world and making a fine host of friends. If love could spare any person's suffering, Iris would never have endured what was to come. But alas all who loved her began to lose the woman they once knew. Alzheimer's is an insidious affliction that does not discriminate. It bleeds dry the sufferer and threatens to dismantle the spirit of every loving onlooker. But Iris had cast seeds that grew strong vines. Intertwined, and with the strength of the next generation, her legacy stood strong. They clung to each other as they walked through a most devastating chapter to its conclusion. Iris smiles in peace at the family she has made and the world she has changed.
In her happy days, Iris was a curious traveler, an avid reader, card player and consumer of the Fine Arts. Her zest for life was contagious and inspirational. For her, every experience was richer with company. She loved Bridge Club (Beavers), Sheepshead, and meeting with her Bookclub. She was a reviewer and judge for the Milwaukee Film Festival. After retirement she spent time visiting hospice patients and their families, driving her fast car and spending time with her favorite people, family.
Greg moved along before Iris in the spring 2020, perhaps to queue up a movie or assemble an orchestra welcoming Iris to the Great Beyond alongside her loved ones gone before. She will be sorely missed. But we are most certain that we will dine, sing and dance with Iris Ann again. We Love You Mom!
The road of Alzheimer's is long and bumpy. We thank the endless list of practitioners who made smoother the journey. Thanks especially to Dr. Terese Anderle for your tailored care, your faith in our family and a safe place on your couch. Iris' family will forever be grateful to the staffs of HarborChase Memory Care and Brighton Hospice. Your love for Iris allowed us to sleep at night and then face the coming day. In her final days, you created the most perfect place for us to say farewell in the company of her fellow resident friends. Your smiles, hugs and the attention to learn all of our names meant that you not only cared for our mother, you sincerely loved her. You are truly earth angels. Special thanks to Fr. Enrique Hernandez who was there in our family's hour of need. You are hope for the weary.
Those welcoming Iris into Paradise include her beloved Greg Weiler, her parents Kenneth and Iris May Amend, her sister Kathleen Grotelueschen, three grandchildren Martin, Mary Helen and Robert DeGroot, and many other friends and extended family.
She is lovingly remembered by the six women she brought into this world, Heidi (Brian) Spoerl, Gretchen (Robert Schafer) Wick, Elizabeth "Libby" (Mark Metcalf) Wick, Martha Wick, Sarah (Daniel) DeGroot, and Kate (Ned) Neitzel. Grandma Iris will be missed by her grandchildren, Molly, Samuel and John Spoerl, Grace Wick, Ken and Eamonn Eckert, Julius Metcalf, Olivia Wick Bander, Jack, Teddy and Joe DeGroot, and Noah and Amelia Neitzel; and her three great-grandchildren Henry, Charlotte, and Salem.
Iris loved her stepchildren as her own: Michael, Stephen, Muffy and Monica Weiler, and their children: Colleen, Rebecca, Avery, Courtney and Dominic. Her family was her world.
Iris is further survived by her brother Ken (Maureen) Amend and her sisters Connie Januzzi, Debbie (William) Volm, and Jenny (John) McIntyre.
The family will receive guests for visitation from 11:30AM to 2:30PM on Wednesday, July 13th, at Feerick Funeral Home, 2025 E Capitol Drive, Shorewood, WI 53211. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 3:00PM, Wednesday, July 13th, at St Robert's Catholic Church, 2200 East Capitol Drive, Shorewood WI 53211 with Rev Enrique Hernandez officiating. Eulogies will take place prior to the Mass, beginning at 2:50PM.
To honor her memory, in lieu of flowers, we encourage donations to the Alzheimer's Association.
https://www.feerickfuneralhome.com/obituary/iris-ann-wick-weiler?fh_id=14932
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