Wilma Boese

Wilma Lou Boese (nee Blenz) passed away peacefully on February 4, 2025, in Foxpoint, Wisconsin.

Born on February 21, 1937, Wilma grew up in Peoria, Illinois, where she demonstrated academic excellence from an early age. She graduated high school with honors and was actively involved as a cheerleader while also enjoying playing the piano. She continued her education at Carthage College in Carthage, Illinois, excelling in pre-med studies and graduating with honors. During her time at Carthage, she remained a cheerleader and was voted Rambler Queen.

In 1959, Wilma married a fellow Carthage graduate and began raising a family in Lombard, Illinois. In the 1980s, she relocated to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, where she embarked on a successful career in real estate with NorthShore brokerage.

Wilma was a woman of many talents and passions. She wrote dozens of children's stories, painted, worked with clay, taught elementary school, and cultivated a love for gardening. Well into her seventies, she remained active by playing on a Wauwatosa women's tennis team and participating in a book club. She was also a proud member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

Since late 2022, Wilma resided at Azura Memory Care in Foxpoint, Wisconsin, where she enthusiastically engaged in various activities. Through the facility's Dream Program, her book *Sneakers* was published, and her reading sessions with schoolchildren garnered television, print, and digital media coverage.

Wilma is survived by her daughter Ann Boese (David Laughlin) of Savannah, Georgia; son Peter A. Boese (Lynn) of New Orleans, Louisiana; grandsons Austin Boese, PhD; Tyler Boese (Kylie); and granddaughter Emily Boese. She was preceded in death by her mother Frances Luella Blenz (née Clark), father Paul Blenz, brother David Blenz, and sister Joyce Ann Blenz.

A celebration of Wilma's life will take place during which her ashes will be interred in the family plot at Mt. Zion Township Cemetery in Illinois. There she will rest beside her mother, father, sister, and brother among generations of relatives.

Donations in Wilma's memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Association (*alzheimers.org*), the American Association of University Women (*aauw.org*), or The Nature Conservancy (*natureconservancy.org*).