Catherine Ann (Wegner) Bertler

     Catherine Ann Bertler, 98, formerly of Green Bay and Mishicot, passed away Friday morning, July 17, 2020 at the Pete and Jelaine Horton Skilled Nursing and Hospice Center in Sturgeon Bay.   

     She was born to Joseph Claude Wegner and Catherine Theresa (Metz) Wegner, January 17, 1922, in Mishicot. Following high school, she attended Oshkosh State Teachers College where she received her teaching certification. On June 17, 1947, she married George Edward Bertler at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Mishicot. He preceded her in death on April 14, 1950 from kidney failure. She was left to raise their two daughters on her own. 

     She returned to Oshkosh for her bachelor’s degree in Education before moving to Two Rivers where she taught at Koening school for 12 years. After earning a master’s degree from UW-Milwaukee in reading education, she worked for the Green Bay school system as a reading specialist until her retirement in 1987.

     Catherine was dedicated to her family and the teaching profession. At various times she served the Green Bay Education Association (GBEA) as their secretary, delegate to WEAC Representative Assembly, and served on their various committees. She was president of the GBEA during 1975-1976. For her work with GBEA, she was twice awarded their Apple award for excellence in association leadership. Catherine also was awarded the Distinguished Service Award twice, “In recognition of a significant contribution to the teaching profession”. In 1980, she was nominated for the Department of Public Instruction’s Wisconsin Teacher of the Year Award by the Green Bay school district.

     In 1981, she received a special study stipend from Delta Kappa Gamma to attend a mastery learning workshop at the Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction. Also, in 1981 she was elected secretary for the state PTA and served for three years on the PTA Board of Directors as liaison for WEAC.

     She was active in the International Reading Association; the Wisconsin State Reading Association; the Greater Bayland Reading Council; and served as President of the Brown County Retired Teacher Association in 1998. She was an active member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society.

     Catherine loved traveling, her cats, cooking, sewing, and gardening as she always had a garden in her life. Once retired, she treated herself to library visits for her historical, romance, and western novels.

     She devoted much time and effort to the family genealogy of both, her and her husband’s family. Catherine traveled throughout Wisconsin researching records. With her sister, Louise, she traveled to Germany to find additional family information. Later she took her daughters and granddaughter to Germany to show them some of the towns their ancestors came from. In all, she had over 30 binders filled with her research and notes.

     Catherine’s love will live on in the hearts of her daughter, Mary (Stephen) Walrath of Arkansas and Shawano; two granddaughters, Jessica Walrath of Washington, D.C., and Michael Walrath of St. Paul, MN; son-in-law, Orville Honold of Jacksonport; three sisters-in-law, Joyce Wegner of Manitowoc, Esther Bertler of Manitowoc, and Betty Bertler of Ohio; and other relatives.

     She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; daughter, Margaret Honold (2018); five brothers, Lawrence, Clement, Joseph, Robert, and John Wegner; sister, Louise Brault; and other relatives.

     Catherine’s life will be honored with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 11:30 a.m.  on Friday, July 24, 2020 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 211 N. Maple Avenue, Green Bay, WI 54303. Visitation for family and friends will be held at the church on Friday from 10:30 a.m. until 11:20 a.m. The Mass will be posted on the “Huehns Funeral Home, Inc. & Door County Crematory LLC” Facebook page later in the day if livestream is not possible, otherwise, “Like” the funeral home page on Facebook, and you’ll automatically be notified of the broadcast of Catherine's Mass.

     She will be laid to rest in Evergreen Cemetery, 2221 Michigan Avenue, Manitowoc, WI 54220, Friday, July 24, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. 

     In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Catherine’s memory to Delta Kappa Gamma at 416 W. 12th Street, Austin, TX, 78701 or online at www.dkg.org.

     Due to the COVID pandemic, all health protocols will be followed: social distancing, wearing of masks, hand sanitizing, and temperature checks will be made for those attending. Limitations on attendance in church, per the Diocese of Green Bay.

     Huehns Funeral Home in Sturgeon Bay (920-743-5635) is assisting the family. Expressions of sympathy, memories, and photos of Catherine may be shared with her family through her tribute page at www.huehnsfuneralhome.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Catherine Ann (Wegner) Bertler, please visit our floral store.