Marie Terese Weishar passed away Thursday morning, December 28, at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf. She was 92. A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 am, Wednesday, January 2, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, Rock Island.
Visitation will be at the church one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in the Rock Island National Cemetery, Arsenal Island. Born February 12, 1926, to A.B. and Annabelle Carlson, Marie lived most of her life in her beloved hometown of Rock Island, Illinois.
After graduating from the Villa de Chantel School, Marie majored in Business Education at Western Illinois University where she pledged Sigma Alpha Sigma sorority. Her yellow Oldsmobile convertible, Alphie, was the preferred mode of transportation for the many excursions she enjoyed with her sorority sisters. Graduate school was not a common pursuit for women in the 1940’s, but Marie went on to obtain a Master’s Degree in Business from the University of Iowa.
Her grad school experience also included a memorable summer at UCLA where, when driving near campus one day, Mickey Rooney honked and waved at the tall, statuesque Marie. Marie taught high school in the Alpha-Woodhull community and at Rock Island High School before marrying the love of her life, Richard Ward Weishar, in 1953. The birth of four daughters, Ann, Susan, Kathy, and Sara, soon followed.
As a young mother Marie was active in the PTA at her daughters’ school, St. Pius X, where she had also served on the school parish’s Founding Committee. A cradle Catholic, she was a daily communicant at St. Pius for decades. She was also very involved in civic affairs as the president of the League of Women Voters of Rock Island and as chairperson of the Rock Island Bicentennial Commission.
Remember those red, white, and blue fire hydrants? Thank Marie! For many years she served on Rock Island County’s 708 Mental Health Board and the board of directors for Information and Referral Services of Rock Island.
Her commitment to social justice and progressive policies led to her active support of liberal, progressive Democratic Party candidates for public office in the 1960’s and 1970’s. In the early 1970’s she went back to work at Frances Willard School in Rock Island where she served as the administrative assistant until her retirement in 1991. At Francis Willard Mrs. Weishar successfully led an effort for school administrative assistants to be included in Rock Island School District labor union negotiations.
Marie loved life and had many passions. Her daughters were her pride and joy and she and Richard were enthusiastic supporters of whatever their daughters endeavored to accomplish. She was a feminist before most people even knew what it meant.
An accomplished golfer and bridge player, Marie not only played both games with great skill, but also helped to organize many golf leagues and bridge marathons through the years. She loved her many friends and cherished the good times they shared together. Marie Weishar is survived by daughters Ann Mohr (Jerry) of Eldrige, Iowa; Sue Weishar (Brad Dude) New Orleans, Louisiana; Kathy Weishar (Dave Abeln) of Ft.
Pierre, South Dakota, and Sara Rippentrop (Brent) of Gilbert, Arizona; grandchildren Morgan, Carrie, Jake, Jordon, and Matt; great-grandchildren Catherine, Rachel, Meredith, Nasir, Aidan, and Blake; and special family member Melody Berry (Fred). Marie supported many charities. In honor of the love and care she provided the cats and dogs she shared her long life with, memorials may be made to the Kings Harvest Pet Rescue, Davenport.
Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, Rock Island is assisting the family.
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