Nola Rae Witzlib, of the Town of West Bend, formerly of Mequon, passed away on June 24th at Kathy Hospice in West Bend. She was 74 years old.
Nola was born in Port Washington on August 29, 1941 to Raymond Bley and Violet Wessel Bley. She grew up in Port Washington and graduated from Port Washington High School in 1959. She went on to Oshkosh State College (now UW Oshkosh) and St. Joseph’s Hospital, becoming certified as a Medical Technologist. She enjoyed a long career, including more than 20 years at Cedar Mills Medical Group in Cedarburg.
On October 6, 1962, Nola married Curtis Witzlib at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Port Washington. Nola was a longtime member of Lumen Christi Catholic Church in Mequon before moving to West Bend and joining St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Slinger, where she served as an usher. She was an active member of many organizations, including the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend (MOWA), the YMCA in West Bend, the Red Hats Society and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Nola is survived by her husband Curt, their five children: Duane (Amy) Witzlib of Germantown, Christopher (Linda) Witzlib of Port Washington, Michelle (David) Schwartzbard) of South Orange, NJ, Ed Witzlib of Milwaukee and John (Ginger) Witzlib of Menomonee Falls. She was extremely proud of her eight grandchildren: Clarke, Amanda, Rachel, Robert, Nicole, Lauren, Lucius and Nadia. She is further survived by her sister Brenda (Bill) Swannack of Menomonie, WI, sister-in-law Phyllis (Warren) Grady of Baraboo, brother-in-law Paul (Del) Witzlib of Green Valley, AZ, along with many other family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother Nicholas.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, June 30th at 6 PM at Resurrection Catholic Church, 215 Main St. Allenton, with Father Richard Stoffel presiding. Visitation will precede the Mass at the Church from 3 PM to 6 PM. Private interment will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Port Washington.
Memorials are suggested to the St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Slinger for their building expansion or to the Museum of Wisconsin Art (www.wisconsinart.org).