Betty A. Wilken

Graveside service will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at St. Mary's Cemetery in Carlyle.  Please gather at St. Mary's Cemetery. The service will be livestreamed, and can be viewed at the link below.

Please wear a mask and follow social distancing recommendations. 

A memorial service will be held at a later date.  (The Mass of Christian Burial that was originally scheduled for December 19 at St. Mary's Church is postponed)

Betty A. Wilken peacefully went to be with her Lord on Friday, December 11, 2020 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese. Born April 25, 1927, the middle child of Anton and Antoinette (Borgelt) Wilken of Carlyle.

After graduating from St. Mary’s Grade School (Carlyle) she worked as a housekeeper for several years in Carlyle before heading to St. Louis with her sister Jeanette. Betty retired from Dillard’s after 39 years working in various departments where she began her career in the stationery department at Stix Baer and Fuller.

Her love of travel began with several trips with her Dad and Jeanette to Yellowstone in California, the Badlands of North Dakota, and Canada. While living in St. Louis, she and Jeanette had many adventures traveling to Spain and Morocco. The highlight of family gatherings was sharing their vacation movies with family. Spirited and always in motion she could often be found playing Wiffle ball with her nieces and nephews.

When not traveling abroad, Betty would go with her brother Richard to Fairmont Park to watch his horses race, after all, she and Mary would sneak them carrots. Betty took numerous trips south with her family, Trudy and Lou Luebbers, Helen and Ed Monken, and Jeanette and Richard to visit their brother Tony and his wife Bettye’s family. Often chauffeured by one of the nieces…and do they have memorable stories!

While on the farm (the home place) she would stitch beautiful quilt blocks that she would give to her sister Trudy to quilt for family members or for a church quilt raffle/bingo.

She was proceeded in eternal rest by her parents; her extended family, Hank and Rose Wilken, Richard, Tony and Bettye Wilken, Trudy and Lou Luebbers and Ed Monken. Surviving are her sisters Jeanette Wilken, Mary Reis and Helen Monken as well as numerous nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.

A Graveside service will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at St. Mary's Cemetery in Carlyle.  Please wear a mask and follow social distancing recommendations.  A memorial service will be held at a later date.  (The Mass of Christian Burial that was originally scheduled for December 19 at St. Mary's Church is postponed.  Please gather at St. Mary's Cemetery)

Memorials, donations, and condolence cards will be accepted through Zieren Funeral Home, PO Box 276, Carlyle, IL 62231.  Donations can be made to St. Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery fund or the American Heart Association.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.