Obituary For Gertrude J. Wiseman

Gertrude J. Wiseman, mother of T. Jan Wiseman who is the executive director of the Greater Salisbury Committee, died on Wednesday, Oct. 24  in Manassas, VA just days prior to her 95th birthday.  She fell in her apartment a few days earlier and passed away from complications.

Her husband of nearly 47 years, C. Edward Wiseman, preceded her in death in June 1987.  He was the owner of the Patch Grove Creamery and served as president of the West Grant (now River Ridge) School Board for more than 25 years.

Growing up in Prairie du Chien, WI, Gertrude graduated from Prairie du Chien High School in 1934 and worked at Greely’s Department Store. In 1939, she eloped with Edward to Cedar Rapids, IA, where they married then settling in Patch Grove.  She helped in the creamery by cutting and wrapping the Wiseman “Dairy Glo” brand cheese for retail sales as well as doing much of the bookkeeping and raising a family.
She and her husband were both graduates of the Dale Carnegie Leadership Course in the late 1950s and then they served as graduate assistants in teaching the Dale Carnegie course. After her husband’s retirement in the 1980s, they both traveled, including tours to Alaska and New England.

Gertrude was the third of four generations of needleworkers.  Her mother’s hand-stitched quilts were featured in a Wisconsin Quilt History Project display at the Milwaukee Museum of Art on “transitional quilts” and published in a book, “Wisconsin Quilts: Stories in Stitching.”

Prior to moving to Virginia in 1995 to be near her daughter, Sherri Goudy, and Sherri’s husband, Steve, Gertrude helped with the Fennimore Doll Museum.

In Virginia, Gertrude assisted her son-in-law in serving other seniors by delivering Meals-on-Wheels for some time, usually in her trademark red sweater. During this time, she occasionally volunteered helping and also exercised at Philbin’s Fitness Center where she was given an informal medal and ribbon as an inspiration to other seniors.

Gertrude and her daughter frequently took day trips to the Northern Virginia countryside and to downtown Washington, DC, to see the Capitol and she developed into a geocache enthusiast. In Virginia, she also became an “expert” on eating ribs.

She will also be remembered as a very positive person with a great sense of humor who was always full of quips and very supportive of others.

Gertrude is survived by her three children and their spouses: T. Jan Wiseman and his wife Ann of Salisbury, MD; Ron Wiseman and his wife Doelores of Appleton, WI; and Sherri Goudy and her husband Steve of Centreville, VA. Others include a step-grandson Joshua Moore of San Antonio who is a 2006 graduate of Parkside High School.

Gertrude is also survived by her sister Geraldine Christopher of Andover, KS as well as nieces and nephews and other step-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be Monday, Oct. 29th, 2 p.m. at the Garrity Funeral Home in Prairie du Chien, WI, with visitation from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the day of the funeral.