Vernita Ellen Wies

Vernita Ellen Smith Wies of Walla Walla went to be with our Lord on April 10, 2016, at the age of 88 with family by her side. Vernita was born on Aug. 2, 1927, in Wyandotte, Mich. She was the daughter of Kenneth and Etta Gorbutt Smith. She grew up and attended schools in Michigan.
As a young woman she traveled west to Great Falls, Mont., with her sister Roselyn and worked during WW II as a civilian airplane Mechanic. There she met and married the love of her life and best friend, Charles G. Wies. They married on Sept. 30, 1944. After Charles he was discharged from the Army Air Corps in 1946, they moved to Parson, Kan. In 1955, they settled in Lowden, and later Walla Walla. They resided there for the remainder of their lives. Charles
and Vernita shared 65 years of marriage before his passing in 2008.
Being a mother was her most important job but being a grandmother was most fun.
Vernita was a member of the VFW Auxiliary and St. Francis Catholic Church. She enjoyed playing bingo, going to Wildhorse and spending time with family.
She will be remembered for her generous volunteering, her loving personality and kind heart.
Vernita is survived by her six daughters: Charlene McDonald and Mac, Mary Lovelady and Guy, Carol Wies Brewer and Steve, Joan Walter and Dave, Geraldine (Dene) Barron, Paula Wies Harrison and Bill, and 19 grandchildren and numerous great and greatgreat- grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband; infant daughter, Patricia Ann; mother and father; eight siblings; great-grandson, Cody Wilder; and son-in-law, Dane Barron.
The Rosary will be held on Friday, April 15, 2016, at 6 p.m. at Herring Groseclose Funeral Home. Viewing will be held from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. on the same day. Funeral services will be held on April 16, 2016, at 10 a.m. at St. Francis Catholic Church. Interment
to follow at Blue Mountain Memorial Gardens on Myra Road. Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Walla Walla Community Hospice, St. Vincent DePaul or the V.F.W. Auxiliary Post 992
through the funeral home.