Vera H. Marten, 94, of Wheaton, Kansas, passed from this life on Sunday, December 29, 2019, at the McCrite Plaza in Topeka. She was a life-long resident of the Wheaton area.
Vera was born on May 30, 1925, on the family farm southeast of Wheaton, Kansas, the fourth of seven children born to Louis W. and Esther Force Henneberg. She attended Wheaton schools and graduated from Wheaton High School in 1943.
Vera married Orville Marten on February 4, 1945, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Duluth. They spent most of their married life on the Marten family farm northeast of Wheaton. While Orville was in the Navy, they were stationed in California. Despite war time circumstances, they made lifelong friends and had pleasant memories of that time in their young lives.
Vera helped with the farm operation and did the bookkeeping for the farm and Marten Surge Service. She also did bookkeeping for the Rural Water District and worked for the Wheaton Mercantile on a part-time basis for a number of years. Vera was an active member of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Wheaton for nearly 70 years. Among other activities; she taught Sunday and Vacation Bible School, and held various offices in the Lutheran Women’s League.
Vera had a life-long interest in and an unfailing memory of family history. She documented the lives and life stories of multiple generations of both the Henneberg and Marten families. Vera had a similar interest in and knowledge of Wheaton community history. For a large portion of her adult life, Vera made daily journal entries documenting ordinary and not so ordinary daily events. She was a prolific letter writer, corresponding regularly with relatives and friends around the country. Vera was a good cook. Her fried chicken, angel food cake and cinnamon rolls were especially enjoyed by her family. She will be missed by her family, friends and all who knew her.
Vera is survived by her four children; Ruth Scott (Mel, Topeka, Jo Schick (Lee, Topeka, Lynn Marten (Marsha, Lenexa, and Paula Garcia (Richard, Lincoln, Nebraska; two siblings, Milton Henneberg, Manhattan, and Eva Brunkow, Topeka; ten grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren. Vera was preceded in death by her husband, Orville, on August 20, 2004, and four siblings, Fay Wirt, Mary Smith, Dean Henneberg, and Francis Welch.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am, Friday, January 3, 2020, at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Wheaton. Reverend Terry DeGiovanni will be officiating. Burial will follow at Wheaton Congregational Cemetery. The family will greet friends on Thursday from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm at Campanella-Evans Mortuary in Wamego. A prayer service will be held at 7:00 pm. Vera will lie-in-state on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Wheaton Congregational Cemetery, and those may be sent in care of Campanella-Evans Mortuary.