Mildred Louise Wales

Mildred Louise (Sanders) Wales, 99, was born on April 22, 1925 in Marion, Illinois to Robert and Dora (Alexander) Sanders. She was very young when the Great Depression started and always reflected fondly on the time because it enabled her to be close to many of her family members, as both homes and meals were frequently shared. As a young girl, she had a debilitating arm fracture that took years of recovery. These two events shaped who she was as a person for the remainder of her nearly century-long life. She was loving, resilient, determined and headstrong. She was a brilliant financial manager and the most generous person I have ever known.

She was the eldest of 3 sisters. Betty (Sanders) Neonis was born in 1933 and Judy (Sanders) Alderton was born in 1943 on the first day of Mildred’s freshman year in college. She was the first in her family to attend college and graduated from Southern Illinois University.

She pursued a career in teaching which started at Marion High where she would come to meet her amazing husband, Danny Ray Wales. The two eloped on February 13, 1954. They settled in Phoenix, Arizona in 1962 where she would get her master’s degree from Arizona State University and teach high school at Phoenix Union. She loved to teach- in the classroom and out of it- and it was the only career she ever had, retiring in 1988.

She had an active life enriched by her love of friends and family. She loved to play cards and games, loved to play the slots, loved to visit and loved to tell stories. She loved to travel and considered Hawaii, Disney and the Rose Bowl Parade among her favorites. She had an infectious laugh and an infectious smile. She was true beauty inside and out. She was the definition of the word caregiver and served in that role for years for her mother and her husband.

She lived in the same house from 1962 until 2019 when she moved into a retirement community and became friends with a host of residents whom she treasured. Their companionship brought her such joy in her final years.

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents and sisters. She is survived by her nieces Nancy Neonis Southerland (David), Julie Neonis O’Connor (Stephen), and Beth Alderton Ernsberger (Mat), nephews Jon Neonis, George Neonis and Kent Alderton; great nieces Claire Southerland, Michelle Southerland, Elizabeth O’Connor Dolan, Isabella Ernsberger and Natalie Ernsberger and great nephews Matthew O’Connor, Daniel Ernsberger, Evan Neonis and Will Southerland.

She passed away peacefully the morning of Thursday, August 29, 2024.