Fourth Generation

61. Gerald Charles VIETH^19,39,40 was born on 22 March 1929 in Monroe County, WI.¹⁹ He appeared in the census in 1930 in Angelo Township, Monroe County, WI.¹⁶ He graduated in 1947 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.⁴¹ from Tomah High School. (His middle name is listed as "Carl" in the Richard Kroener research and in the Monroe County Index to Birth Registrations.)

Gerald Charles VIETH and Virginia Edna KROENER were married.¹³ Virginia Edna KROENER, daughter of Mahlon LaVerne KROENER and Frieda Sophia NIEDFELDT, was born on 6 February 1936.⁴² She died on 24 June 2004 at the age of 68 in Arkdale, Strongs Prairie Township, Adams County, WI.^42,43

Obituary Notes: "Virginia (Ema) Kroener Collies, 68, of Arkdale, died at her home on Friday, June 25, 2004. She was born April 6, 1936, the second of six children to Mahlon and Frieda (Niedfeldt) Kroener. She grew up in the Bangor and Sparta, Wis., areas.

She was united in marriage to Gerald Vieth and to this union, four children were born. They were later divorced.

Much of Virginia's life was spent caring for and loving children, raising her own, helping with grandchildren, operating a home based day care center, and working in community Day Care Center. She also worked as the assistant director with a day care center for children with handicaps and becoming a foster parent to children with handicaps. In 1979 she was employed to prepare seasonal income tax forms for customers, something she enjoyed doing. She continued with the tax preparation work for 25 years. She maintained a home based tax business as well as working with various public accounting and CPA firms.

Virginia attended Western Wisconsin Technical College and graduated with honors in 1987. Following graduation, she was employed as a bookkeeper and prepared tax forms with a public accounting firm, which merged with a CPA firm. Later she held supervisory positions with the Ho-Chunk Nation for nearly 10 years.

On Nov. 10, 1996, she was united in marriage to Robert J. Collies. Her husband was very devoted to her in care giving during her struggles with health problems in her later surviving years.

She is survived by her four children, Linda (Larry) Thurston of Holmen, Allan (Barbara) Vieth of Columbia, Tenn., Michael (Donna) Vieth of Santee, Calif., and Judith (Donald) Neal of Burbank, Calif.; three stepsons, Larry Collies of Madison, Wis., Michael Collies of Tomah, Wis., and Danny (Sarah) Collies, Louisville, Ky. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren, Alissa (Matthew) Shepard, David Hutson, Adam, Joshua, Benjamin, James, Daniel, Jeremiah, Leah, Ruth, Jaimie, and Matthew and Brendon Vieth; one step-granddaughter, Hannah Collies; two greatgranddaughters, Grace Shepard and MaKaylie Hutson. She is also survived by her mother, Frieda Kroener; three sisters, Betty (Lester) Amundson, Darlene Kohner, and Janice (James) Marenchin; two brothers, John Kroener and Ron (Nancy) Kroener; and many step siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She is also survived by special friends, Marianne Guist, Charleen Kulcinski, Judith Cobb Bruemmer and Shane Strong. She was preceded in death by her father.

A memorial service was held June 29 at the First Baptist Church in Necedah, Wis, with burial in the Monroe Center Cemetery, near Arkdale, Wis.
A special thanks to daughter Linda and the Hospice Team that made it possible for her to be at home."

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Gerald Charles VIETH and Virginia Edna KROENER had the following children: