Erna Kay Wieland

Erna "Kay" (Pichon) Wieland, age 87, passed away at home on June 19, 2025. A celebration of life will be held on June 23, 2025 from 3:00 - 6:00 pm at the Northwest Community Center, 5110 W Franklin Ave, Des Moines. A funeral service will be held on June 24, 2025 at 1:00pm at McLaren's Resthaven Chapel in West Des Moines. Burial will immediately follow the service at Resthaven Cemetery in West Des Moines.

Erna "Kay" went to Des Moines Tech High School. She married Lawrence Wieland on March 28, 1955 at First Methodist Church Downtown. Together, they settled in Des Moines and started their family. They stayed in the area and spent most of their lives together on their acreage in Urbandale. Kay and Larry had six children; Connie, Larry II, Jeff, Gail, Shawna, and Summer.

Kay spent a lot of her time surrounding herself with family and friends. She was a people person, plain and simple. Her favorite thing in the world was playing with babies and had an unbelievable knack to make them laugh. She was also an artist. She had a gift for bringing scenes to life with acrylic and an easel. She was known to give her paintings to her friends and relatives as an act of love. Kay was known as "the best cook in the world" to those who knew her. She was famous for bringing around her fudge or brownies to brighten people's days. Kay was an animal lover. She owned every animal from dogs, goats, horses, chickens, and even a few wild animals, like raccoons, to top it off. She adored her cat, Mr. Cuddles, up until her very last day.

Kay was a giver; she was active in the community center, helping people, and just taking care of everyone. Her favorite time of the year was Christmas. The Christmas trees and shopping and the smiles, she adored it all. She LOVED to give gifts, even if someone didn't want one.

She was a strong woman. She persevered through many health issues and battles with a smile still on her face and her family by her side. Kay is a two time cancer survivor and heart disease survivor, along with multiple health issues that came her way. She was a hard worker, always pushing forwards, always leading forwards, and always doing what needed to be done. Kay just couldn't sit down for long because she didn't want to miss out on life with her family. She always made sure to tell her family she loved them so they would never forget it.

Erna Kay is survived by her loving husband of over 70 years of marriage, Lawrence Wieland Sr.; children Connie (Bill) Heinkel, Larry II (Kathy) Wieland, Jeff (Helene) Wieland, Gail (Tim) Bormann, Shawna Kinnison, and Summer (Ryan) Clark; grandchildren; Billy (Nicole) , Andy, Jason (Crystal) , Leah (Ryan) , Lindsey (Mike), Caleb (Shambala) , Adelle, Frank (Janie) , Emily (Tim), Angela (Tyler), Everett (Nikki), Eleanor, Mariah, Brianna (Nick), Peirce (Candice), Ashley, and Haley; great grandchildren, Brysen, Jacksen, Landon, Aubrey, Lincoln, Isaiah, Justice, Charlotte, Cruz, Jackson, Ava, London, Ivy, Vada, Atticus, Kimberlie, Rebekah, Henry, George, Elouise, Maverick, Cash, and 3 on the way (Look Out!); and her brother, Ernest "Bob" (Cheryl) Pichon.

She was preceded by her parents; Ernest "Ernie" and Harriett "Kay" Pichon; sisters, Connie Kennedy and Margie Butler.

Memorial contributions may be made to Northwest Community Center or The American Red Cross Association.

A letter from Summer

~Mom,

We’re all here today because Mom touched our lives—whether you knew her personally or know one of us, the family she and Dad built together. She was the living definition of love. Tough love. Unconditional love. Undying love. Her mission in life seemed simple: to make someone smile every single day.

Mom was one of the hardest workers I’ve ever known. She didn’t believe in sitting still—unless she was sick, and even then, she didn’t listen to the doctor’s orders! How many times did we say, “Mom, you need to rest!” And she’d fire back with, “If you slow down, you’ll get old. You have to keep going—stand tall and push through—or you’ll shrivel up and die!” She was a force of nature. Always hustling—whether it was getting all of us kids out the door for school or helping Dad provide for the family.

She wore so many hats in her life:

Wife – I don’t know exactly how things were in the beginning, but I can’t recall a single day in my childhood when Dad came home from work and didn’t have a warm meal waiting. And what a cook she was! If “MasterChef” had existed back then, she could’ve been a finalist—though she never would’ve accepted the title. She’d say, “It’s just normal cooking everyone does.” But if you’ve ever tasted her food, you knew it wasn’t normal—it was amazing. Not fancy, but real, comforting, soul-filling.

She also taught us the meaning of real partnership. Being married for 70 years is no small feat. Not every day was filled with roses—some days were probably closer to walking through the fires of hell (LOL)—but through it all, they loved each other. They reminded us that even in the hardest moments, inside the person driving you crazy is the same person you fell in love with. And they kept choosing each other. Over and over again. And sometimes, that led to another baby! 😂

In a time where giving up seems easy, Mom and Dad showed us that love—true, unconditional love—can get you through almost anything.

Entrepreneur – She opened a children’s consignment shop with my sister Gail, and it was a labor of love. That store gave us so many memories—Gail’s million kids in cute outfits 🤣, 4th of July parades with Mom and Gail dressed as clowns, tossing stuffed animals to thrilled kids losing their mind to get one, the mural Mom painted on the front of the checkout counter, Malinda doing spring portraits with bunnies and chicks ❤️. And of course, the day we all learned what pepper spray does in a very small space. (Ask Ryan.🤣)

At the time, I didn’t fully realize the impact she was making. She was teaching us—without saying a word—that every day is a chance to make something meaningful. That you seize the day because tomorrow isn’t promised.

Dog Breeder – Believe it or not, she invented the name “Cock-a-poo!” Before the designer dog craze, there was Mom—raising puppies, helping the family, and somehow making it all work. When I was little, I thought she was just dog crazy. But now I realize she found a way to make a living while staying home to raise us. That’s just who she was—always finding a way.

Mom – We truly hit the jackpot in the mom department. Not because she was perfect (what parent is?), but because we always knew we were loved. Even when we were getting a smack upside the head—hey, it was the ‘80s 🤣—we knew it came from love.

With six kids spread out over 22 years, we all had a different version of Mom. She was evolving, as people do, and each of us had our own unique relationship with her. By the time I was a teenager, she had already been through the shenanigans of five other kids—she could sniff out trouble before I even knew I was about to get into it! She had eyes in the back of her head, and as a child, I honestly believed that might be real. 🤣

She taught us to love one another, to embrace our differences, and to stick together—because family, at its core, is love.

Grandmother and Great-Grandmother – This might have been her favorite role. I can’t speak for how she was with everyone’s kids—mainly because I was still growing up with them 🤣—but for my girls, she was everything. She played a key role in their early lives until she became too ill to keep up.

She always said that my kids kept her young. She was magic with children. She could turn anything into fun—pots, pans and a wooded spoon, homemade play dough, hide-and-seek in the dark. A baby would just look at her and smile. Even the day before she passed, she held her 4-month-old great-granddaughter and had her smiling within seconds.

She was the wise one, the trusted one, the one you turned to when you needed guidance that didn’t come with judgment. Her advice was always rooted in love, and because of that, everyone listened.

Friend –

Mom had many lifelong friends. She was a people person through and through. Whether it was in person or over the phone, she loved to talk. She wanted to know what was going on in your life—and she’d gladly share all the updates from hers.

Artist

Mom didn’t just create an incredible family—she created beauty wherever she went. Her acrylic paintings captured the world with stunning grace, each brushstroke reflecting her deep appreciation for life’s details and seeing God's beauty in nature. Even in lean times, she found joy in crafting toys from scraps of old fur and worn clothing, transforming humble materials into treasures that lit up her children’s faces. Whether through art or imagination, she brought warmth, wonder, and smiles to everyone lucky enough to receive one of her creations.

As time went on and she and Dad began losing friends, she would say, “Growing old isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Watching your friends and family die is awful.” And while that pain was real, it also became a blessing in disguise. It pushed her to drag Dad out of the house and down to the community center, where they found an entirely new circle of friends.

And of course, Mom became a blessing to that group too—bringing gifts, cooking up batches of fudge and brownies, handing out fresh eggs when prices skyrocketed to $7. She gave what she could, whenever she could, simply to make someone else’s life a little brighter. Because that’s what made her happy—making other people happy.

As I’ve gotten older, I often wondered why Mom could never sit still. But I’ve come to understand: when you’ve spent your whole life pushing forward, it’s hard to slow down. She needed purpose. Every day. Whether it was baking brownies for her friends at the senior center or helping babysit grandkids—she had to live. She had to do. That’s how she felt alive. That was her “Why”.

And now, even though she’s no longer here in body, I know she’s still around. In the meals we cook. In the stories we share. In the laughter of our children. In the strength we draw from when things get hard. She’s in all of that.

Mom didn’t just live a life—she built a life. She gave life. And she lived it fully, with love at the center of it all.

We’ll miss you forever. But your love—your tough, undying, unconditional love—will carry us forward.