Warren A. Wiele

Warren A. Wiele, 97, of Villa Ridge, passed away at his home on Wednesday, February 6, 2019. Warren was born on May 16, 1921, in Morrison, Missouri to the late Gustave H. and Gretchen W. (nee Hanne) Wiele. The family moved to Washington and then to Maplewood, Missouri and Warren attended school there up until the 10th grade. His father was killed in an industrial accident when Warren was 9 years old and his mother finished raising the four children to adulthood during the Great Depression. The family moved to south St. Louis and he graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1939. After high school he worked as a set-up and repairman for machines assembling 50 caliber bullets and enlisted in the US Navy Air Force shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After his military service concluded, Warren began his nearly 40-year career as a locomotive engineer with Terminal Railroad. Warren’s three siblings, Evelyn Marie Wiele, Wallace O. Wiele, and Charles Edward Wiele, preceded him in death.  He was united in marriage to the late Mary Lucille “Polly” Nicholson in 1943 and in 1946 they had a daughter, the late Margaret Ann. After Polly’s death, Warren married the late Berniece Celeste Knierim in 1987. She preceded him in death in 2006. Sadly, his daughter Margaret Ann Schmitz, who was a widow, also preceded him in death in 2013. Warren moved to Villa Ridge and lived his remaining years there with his grandson, Steve Schmitz who survives him. He is also survived by a step-daughter, Celeste Knierim; a nephew, Ed Schollmeyer; two nieces, Diana Schollmeyer and Charlene Lindsey Wiele; other relatives; and friends.

 

A visitation will be held on Friday, February 15, 2019, from 10:30 am until time of service 11:30 am at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ. Interment will follow at the Church cemetery. Memorial donations are appreciated to the Missouri School for the Deaf.