Mary Wichmann

Mary Wichmann, age 93, a resident of Harlingen, Texas, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Monday, August 31, 2020, at Harlingen Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on May 28, 1927, daughter to Joseph and Mary Strasser, immigrants from Yugoslavia who arrived in the United States at Ellis Island in 1920 (one hundred years ago this year) aboard the ship Argentina.

At the age of ten, Mary and her family moved to the rural community of Kansasville in southeastern Wisconsin. Growing up on a farm through the Great Depression instilled in Mary lifelong values of perseverance, hard work, and prudence. In 1949, Mary wed Dean Noble. She and Dean raised two sons in nearby Rochester, Wisconsin, where they also had goats, sheep, and rabbits, and tended to a large garden. Mary and her two sons were active members of the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.

After her two boys were grown, Mary began the next chapter of her life when she married Werner Wichmann on September 8, 1972. Mary and Werner began their marriage living in Rochester and then later moved to several communities throughout the country. They enjoyed owning and operating a hotel along the Gulf of Mexico in Biloxi, Mississippi. They then moved to Laurel, Mississippi before returning to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, where they entertained their grandchildren by letting them drive the riding lawn mowers at top speed. Longing for warmer weather, Mary and Werner retired to a house on the Lake of the Ozarks in Climax Springs, Missouri, where their family joined them for many happy holidays boating and swimming. Finally, they began wintering in Harlingen, Texas, where they enjoyed a slower pace of life, playing bingo and cards with Mary’s sister, brother, other family members, and their neighbors.

Mary is remembered for her intelligence and determined spirit, which she balanced with her keen wit and infectious laugh and smile. Although naturally frugal and abhorrent of waste as a result of her upbringing in the era of the Great Depression, Mary had a generous heart that did not hesitate to share what she had with her loved ones and those in need. A passionate animal lover, Mary enjoyed doting on her dog (“Mister”) and cat (“Keke”), as well as caring for the wild animals on her properties.

Mary is survived by her husband, Werner Wichmann; her two sons, Douglas and Steven (Lanette) Noble; her two step-sons, Eric (Peggy O’Sullivan) and Donald (Jerilyn) Wichmann; six grandchildren, Ashley (Rebecca) Noble, Kathleen (Aaron) Wegrzyn, Ryan (Stacey) Noble, and Erik, Roger, and Travis Wichmann; six great-grandchildren, Lauren, Grant, and Amelia Noble, Benjamin and Luke Wegrzyn, and Wren Wichmann; her sister-in-law Dorothy Strasser; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Mary Strasser; her sister and brother-in-law, Julie and Floyd Binning; her brother and sister-in-law, George and Pearl Strasser; and her first husband, Dean Noble.

In light of the current public health situation, no visitation or funeral services will be held. Mary will be interned at her mother’s grave site at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Kansasville, Wisconsin.