Genevieve Peyton Wildfang

Wildfang, Genevieve Peyton Born September 12, 1923 in Imperial, Chase County, Nebraska, passed away peacefully on March 5, 2012 after a long and fulfilling life. Gene was predeceased by her husband, Karl, on December 19, 1990, and her sisters, Joan Garrett and Wilda Taylor. Gene is survived by brother, Boyd Peyton; sister, Betty Lou (Peyton) Kaminski; sister-in-law, Lee Woodhead; daughters, Sharon Wildfang (Reed Carpenter), Jacqueline Christiansen (Alan); son, K. Craig Wildfang (Christine Honaas); grandchildren, Melissa (Justin) McClure, Nathan Christiansen, Julie (Alan) Rosenhan, Karen Christiansen, Alexandra Wildfang, and Grant Wildfang, and great-grandson, Karl Rosenhan. Gene was the eldest of five children of Lester Peyton and Mary Ellen (Smith) Peyton, and is survived by two of her siblings. Of the many words that one could use to describe Gene, two seem most important, cheerful and American. Throughout her life, and even in dealing with her long illness, Gene was always cheerful and friendly to everyone. She took great pride in being friendly and cheerful. And she was the quintessential American. Her ancestors came to America in the 1600s, Quakers seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity. Her great-grandfather lost an arm in the Civil War at the Battle of Chickamauga, fighting for the Union, and for freedom and liberty for all, as promised by the Declaration of Independence. She often told stories of celebrating Independence Day as a child in her tiny town in Nebraska, and how important that was to her and her family. Her grandfather left the relative security of farm life in Iowa in the 1880's to move to western Nebraska, where he was one of the founders, and a leading citizen, of Imperial, where Gene was born. After surviving the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, and a father who had left the family, Gene, an outstanding student, had plans for college. But when her mother died of cancer in 1941 as Gene graduated high school, she had responsibility for the care of her four younger siblings, which made college impossible. When World War II changed the lives of everyone, Gene did what many did; she met and fell in love with an American serviceman, Karl Wildfang, and became a "war bride." Karl and Gene were married on June 1, 1944. During the War Gene did her part, as everyone did, including moving to Washington DC and working for the Department of Commerce, while Karl was serving on troop ships in the Pacific. After the War, Karl and Gene sought the American dream by buying a small business, a greasy spoon diner in Omaha, Nebraska, Karl's hometown. After mixed results in the diner business, Karl and Gene decided on a different course, and Karl started a new career in the food sales business, while Gene was becoming a mom. With children born in 1948 (Sharon), 1952 (Craig), and 1962 (Jackie), Gene was a stay-at-home mom spending her time on raising her children in the fast-growing suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Karl was transferred by his employer to Des Moines, Iowa in 1970, and he and Gene settled into a new community, where Gene was active in various community and school activities. After the kids were grown she returned to the workforce as a secretary at the Legal Clinic at Drake Law School, where she was loved by the faculty and the students. On the raising children front, Gene was a great success. Her kids have their own kids, graduate degrees, and, as Gene would have wanted, concerns about how others in our society are doing. Although born and raised a rock-ribbed Republican (the party of Lincoln and the Union), in her later years she became an ardent Democrat and was eager to share her political views with anyone within earshot. She will be dearly missed by family and friends. The family thanks the outstanding staff at the Minnesota Masonic Home for their wonderful care for Gene over the last few years and, more recently, the staff and volunteers of Fairview Hospice. A memorial service to celebrate Gene's life will be held at Minnesota Masonic Home, 11501 Masonic Home Drive, Bloomington, MN 55437 at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 8. Memorials are preferred to the Minnesota Masonic Home, 11501 Masonic Home Drive, Bloomington, MN 55437.