Elizabeth Lamb Wegener

Elizabeth (Bonnie) was a hero in my life. She always made me feel empowered and valued my artistic work in Quilt Making and called me a "true artist". Once during a visit at Pioneer Farm I mentioned how I would like attend a quilt show except it was in VT. We had recently moved to NJ and she said "Well Just GO!" She followed that up by getting her dog-eared road atlas out and showed me just how easy it would be. She said "just zoom up on that highway - easy". I did go and I went everywhere else I wanted to go because of her encouragement and confidence. Thank you Bonnie! The other memory I wanted to share was riding her ATV on their Farm in WI and coming upon an entire field of daisies. Amazing. I'll miss you. I'll never forget you. I'll always Love you.

Amy, I can honestly still see your mom as if yesterday was the day - she always had strong, sound advice. She brought me back down to earth while letting me dream at the same time - that's not an easy thing to achieve and I hope I led by example when raising my kids. Condolences Amy and best wishes for happy memories. Love, Vicki.

To all the relatives , I would like to express my deepest sympathies for the loss of Elizabeth. Although I met with her only occasionally during the years while hunting turkey and deer at the Farm, she left an indelible mark on me with her wit and intelligence. Years ago she stated to several of us hunters: "You boys need to feel and be useful. Now, go cut down those trees I asked you to cut the last time I saw you!" What a spirit ! She will be missed, but I'm sure her spirit will be part of the Farm for a very long while.

To all of Elizabeth’s family, I know from experience that no matter the age of the person who departs our lives forever and no matter how prepared we believe ourselves to be, we are never truly prepared for the loss of a person near and dear to us. I extend my deepest sympathies to you. The story of Elizabeth’s life is a true testament to the argument for living life to its fullest and continue to learn something new every single day until the day you die. John and I valued and appreciated Elizabeth and Charles as neighbors and learned much from them. Thank you for carrying on the farm as you have. May the brightest memories carry you all forward during this difficult time.

Whenever I saw your Mom, she would start talking about my Dad, Reuben Kritz, and how much she and Charles liked having him as a neighbor. To Elizabeth, I was always greeted warmly and treated kindly because I was Reuben's daughter and had grown up on the neighboring farm. She had a keen interest in the history of Wyoming Township and Pleasant Ridge and would pepper me for hours about "who used to have that farm", "why did they sell," "where do their children live", "how did farming change after the war," "why did I leave the area but then return ," etc.? She was a good listener as was Charles. The Wegeners were one of the first IL families who bought property in this area and over the years they saw as I and my family have how the landscape changed after the dairy farmers started selling their farms because they realized that they could make more money working for Oscar Mayer, Kipps, or another company in Madison than they could by milking cows. In one of our last conversations, she lamented about how the brush and weeds had taken over the pristine pastures and open savannas that were common in SW WI when they bought their farm. As others have said, Elizabeth was a wonderful person and will be missed.