Date : 15 Nov 2014
Location : St. Mary's Cemetery, Rock Valley, IA
Rock Valley, Iowa
Viola Klein-Wise, 100, of New Hope, Minnesota, formerly of Rock Valley, Iowa, passed away Sunday, November 9th, 2014 at St. Therese Care Center in New Hope, Minnesota. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Rock Valley with Fr. Bruce Lawler officiating. Burial will follow at St. Mary's Cemetery at Rock Valley. Visitation will be held one hour prior to Mass from 10:00-11:00 a.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery and condolences may be left for the family at www.porterfuneralhomes.com.
Viola Catherine, daughter of Albert and Katherine (Richter) Schemmer, was born in Rock Valley on August 22, 1914. Viola attended St. Mary's grammar school in Rock Valley and graduated in 1931 from Mount St. Mary's High School in Cherokee, Iowa, where she participated in drama and was on the school paper. She attended business school in Sioux City, Iowa prior to working for Mr. Frank McGill in Des Moines, Iowa the following summer. She was married to Loyd Klein in Rock Valley where they made their home until Loyd passed away on April 6, 1964. Viola spent several years working for the Rock Valley Sales Co., I.P.S., and spent 20+ years working for McGill and McGill Law Firm in Rock Valley. Viola spent several years as secretary of the Rock Valley Chamber of Commerce, was an avid bowler, and president of the Catholic Daughters at St. Mary's, and was an original member of the Rock Valley Golf Course. Viola later moved to St. Paul, Minnesota and worked for former Governor Harold LeVander's Law Firm. She married Al Wise in St. Paul in 1990. After retirement, she took up quilting and was awarded a first place medal at the Minnesota State Fair, on two different occasions.
Viola is survived by her four sons, David Klein of Condon, Oregon; Harlan Klein of Barnes, Wisconsin; Kenneth Klein and his wife Kathleen "Kitti" of Metairie, Louisiana; and Leo Klein of Rock Valley, Iowa; seven grandchildren; and eleven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Katherine Schemmer; six sisters; five brothers and her husbands, Loyd Klein and Al Wise.