Julia M. Brock

Julia M. Brock, 103, of Columbia City, Indiana passed away Friday, June 13, 2025, at Peabody Retirement Community. Born July 1, 1921, in Whitley County, Indiana. She was a daughter of the late Carl and Gladys (Bentz) Wendel. Julia grew up in South Whitley and attended grade school in a one room schoolhouse. She graduated from South Whitley High School with the class of 1939. On June 14, 1941, she married George H. Brock in Indianapolis, Indiana, and in 1943 they moved to Columbia City. They were happily married 44 years before George passed away on February 7, 1986. Julia worked in the office at Weatherhead in Columbia City for a number of years. She then went to work for Fibre Form for many years during which time she attended higher education classes for bookkeeping and management; she retired as office manager in 1983. She was a member of the Columbia City United Methodist Church. In high school Julia was a tap dancer and performed in many plays. She was a beautiful writer, and her poetry was published in the South Whitley Tribune. She was also an avid reader and loved to watch tennis. Family was most important to Julia, and she loved keeping up with her children and grandchildren despite the distance between them. Determined to not miss a thing, she learned to use a computer when she was 80 years old and emailed her daughter every day to keep up with the family who lived all over the country. She was a safe haven for her family and always had the snack drawer ready in case they might stop by. There was no place like "Mongo's" house. Julia is survived by her children, Arema (Kenneth) Kauffman of Spring, TX and James (Cerese) Brock of Roanoke, IN; grandchildren, Erik Bauer, Aaron (Nikki) Bauer, Nathan (Joey) Bauer, Megan (Chris) Jordan, Emily (Jarod) Hammel and Abbey Brock; and 13 great grandchildren. Along with her parents and husband George, Julia was preceded in death by her siblings, Arema (George) McGlennen, Rosalie (Sam) Kreider, Donna (Jack) Thomson, Carolyn Augustine, and Gene (Rose) Wendel. Visitation will be 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on Friday, June 20, 2025, at DeMoney-Grimes Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City. Private urn burial will take place at South Whitley Cemetery. Memorial donations may be given in memory of Julia to Columbia City United Methodist Church. Visit www.DeMoneyGrimes.com to send Julia's family online condolences or sign the online guest book. To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Julia, please visit our Tree Store.