Wilma Lou Boese

Wilma Lou Boese (nee Blenz) transitioned peacefully Feb. 4, 2025, to be with her Lord and Savior. Beloved by family and friends, she is survived by daughter Ann Boese (David Laughlin) of Savannah, GA; son Peter A. Boese (Lynn) of New Orleans, LA; grandsons Austin Boese, PhD, and Tyler Boese (Kylie); and granddaughter Emily Boese. She was preceded in death by mother Francis Luella Blenz (nee Clark), brother David Blenz, sister Joyce Ann Blenz, and father Paul S. Blenz. Born in 1937, Wilma was a precocious child who grew up in Peoria, IL, where she excelled academically, graduating from Manual High School with honors. She was a cheerleader & proficient at playing piano. She went on to graduate with honors in pre-med studies from Carthage College in Carthage, Ill, where she was voted Rambler Queen & continued cheerleading. In 1959 she married a fellow Carthage graduate & started a family in Lombard, IL. In the 1980s, she moved to Wauwatosa, WI, embarking on a successful real estate career at NorthShore brokerage. Wilma was creative, talented, and well-read. She wrote dozens of children’s stories, painted, worked in clay, taught elementary school, and was an avid gardener. Into her 70s, she played on a Wauwatosa women’s tennis team, participated in book club, and was a proud member of American Association of University Women. Since late 2022, she resided at Azura Memory Care in Foxpoint, WI, where she enthusiastically engaged in all activities. The facility’s Dream Program published her book, “Sneakers,” & her reading to school children spurred television, print and digital media coverage. https://www.fox6now.com/news/former-wisconsin-teacher-writer-dementia-special-day Her ashes will be interred in a family plot at Mt. Zion Township Cemetery in IL. Donations in her name may be made to Alzheimers.org, AAUW.org, &/or Natureconservancy.org.