Virginia (Jean) Klapper passed away peacefully at the King Veterans Home on Thursday, March 2, 2017.
She was born in Menasha on August 31, 1925 to Frank and Anna (Wrobleski) Hill. Jean met her husband Bob in 1944 when she was serving our country by working in the shipyards during WWII. They married in 1944 before Bob was shipped overseas and were blessed to be married for 72 years. She and Bob raised their family in Menasha until 1971 when she and Bob moved to Fremont, WI. Jean and Bob liked to take their children camping at Boot Lake near Lakewood, WI and later purchased land on St. John’s Lake, Pickerel, WI where they built a cottage and later a second home. They had many fun times on the lake in summer and snowmobiling with friends in the winter. In 1966, Bob and Jean purchased the A&W root beer stand in Wabeno, WI. Jean ran the business with her son Gary and daughter Barbara. In 1969, they purchased the Wolf River Diner in Fremont, WI. She was full of energy and tireless often working 14 hour days. Jean loved playing poker with her friends, Charidy Ann, Jan, Jean, JoAnn, Pat and Wanda. There were no Klapper get-togethers without rousing card games with Jean leading the way. She fondly recalled trips she and Bob made with Bob’s cousin Melvin and his wife Shirley and trips made with their friends John and Mavis. She and Bob also enjoyed going to Canada to fish with their sons and their wives. Jean loved to shop and especially enjoyed the annual tradition of shopping all day and into the evening with her daughter on Black Friday. Jean was an avid reader and there was always a book by her side. After retirement, she volunteered at Bethesda and also with Bob at the EAA. While she was able, she volunteered at the King commissary and the gift shop. She was also a member of the Fremont Women’s Auxiliary. She was a hard worker and generous wife and mother. Her children always came first but she was always ready for fun. Her granddaughter June described her best when she wrote to her aunt: “I like to believe there is a heaven because that is what my full-of-goodness grandmother deserved. I can’t recall grandma talking about herself; she always was interested in how others were doing – and she truly cared. What a great mother you had and Grandmother I had.”
Jean is survived by her husband Robert, sons Robert Jr.( Nance), Gary (Ann), and daughter Barbara (Gary) Wegner, and a daughter-in-law, Danna. She is survived by her six grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, four step-great-grandchildren and two step-great-great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Mary Hill, Audrey Klapper and Mary Klapper. She was preceded in death by her son Dennis, her three brothers, Edward, James, Francis and one sister, Aurelia (Ory) Piette.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 11 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 107 Tustin Rd., Fremont. Rev. Stephen Pope will officiate. Visitation will be held on Saturday, at the church, from 9:30 a.m. until the time of service. Entombment will be in Highland Memorial Park in Appleton. A memorial fund will be established in her name. The Lewin Funeral Home, Fremont is assisting the family with arrangements.
Our deep gratitude to the staff at King for their wonderful, kind and caring service.