VERNITA I. WELLMAN age 89,
Of New Bremen, died on Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 2:15 P.M. at The Joint Twp. Dist. Memorial Hospital in St. Marys. She was born on May 9, 1930 the daughter of the late Benjamin H. and Evelyn A. (Rump) Brockman on the family farm on Brockman Road outside of New Bremen. On August 2, 1950, she married Mack W. Wellman at St. Paul Church in New Bremen, and he died on July 6, 2016. Surviving are her children Cathy Stevens of Celina, and Thomas (Christine) Wellman of Springboro, her grandchildren Rob (Deb) Stevens, Matt Wellman, Corey Wellman, and her great-grandchildren Britenee Stevens and Dallas Smith. Along with her parents and husband, Vernita was preceded in death by a daughter Connie Wellman, a granddaughter Melissa Howell, and her siblings: Gladys Gruebmeyer, Helen Wissman, Earl, Paul, and Warren Brockman.
Vernita was a 1948 graduate of New Bremen High School. She was a faithful member of St. Paul United Church of Christ in New Bremen, where she had been a Sunday school teacher for 15 years, assisted with the funeral luncheon committee, and was active in the Busy 12. She was a member of the Joint Twp. Dist. Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, and volunteered at the hospital for 18 years. She was involved with the Friends of the New Bremen Library, the New Bremen Historic Association, the New Bremen Senior Citizens, and the New Bremen American Legion Post 241 Auxiliary. She had also been a 4-H advisor, and a Girl Scout and Cub Scout Leader. Vernita loved to travel, and together with Mack and her family, they took many fishing trips to Michigan and Canada. They were also able to travel to all 50 states, to Europe, Mexico, and Australia. In her spare time Vernita enjoyed crafting, sewing, crocheting, reading, and she was active in a Bridge club. She had been an Executive Secretary at the former Beatrice Foods in New Bremen, and later helped her husband operate the former Crown Cleaners in New Bremen. She was also a proofreader for Post Printing in Minster for a number of years.
Funeral Services will be held on Friday, June 7, 2019 at 11:00 A.M. at the Gilberg-Hartwig Funeral Home in New Bremen with Rev. Becky Erb Strang officiating. Inurnment will be held at a later date in the German Protestant Cemetery near New Bremen. The family will receive friends on Thursday, June 6, 2019 from 3:00 until 6:00 P.M. at the Gilberg-Hartwig Funeral Home in New Bremen and on Friday one hour prior to the services. Memorial contributions in memory of Vernita can be directed to the St. Paul U.C.C. Memorial Fund, or to the Friends of the New Bremen Library.