Edwin F. Wegner

Edwin F. Wegner, 71, of Newton, died on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.

Services were held on Saturday at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Memorials to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church may be left at the Wallace Family Funeral Home.

Ed, the son of John and Mary (Jarocki) Wegner, was born on Nov. 24, 1941, in Stanley, Wis. He grew up in Thorp, Wis., and graduated from St. Hedwig’s High School. Following high school Ed served in the U.S. Army during the Berlin Crisis. After returning from the Army, Ed graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He moved to Newton, Iowa to work for the Maytag Company. In Newton, Ed met Elizabeth “Liz” Manning while volunteering at the Newton Community Theatre. They were married on July 4, 1970. Ed continued his career at Maytag working as a Tool Engineer, a Project Engineer, and later the Plant 2 Manager for Tool Engineering. He retired from Maytag in December of 2004. Ed also owned a tree stump removal company.

Ed was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a 3rd Degree Knights of Columbus and the American Legion Post 111. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, traveling in his motorhome, building cars and machines, and following the stock market. Ed loved to travel to see his children and go to his grandchildren’s activities.  He also made a monthly trip to his family’s dairy farm in Wisconsin to help with the machinery.

Those left to honor Ed’s memory are his wife, Elizabeth “Liz” Wegner of Newton; son, John (Terri) Wegner of Springfield, Ill.; daughter, Beverly (Steve) Fritz of Omaha, Neb.; and four grandchildren, Megan and Lucy Wegner and Riley Ann and McKinley Fritz. Ed was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Vivianee and Gertrude; and brother, Vernon.