Lorene Ann (Steiner) Wiley

Lorene Ann Wiley age 95 of Garrett, Indiana went to her heavenly home on Tuesday August 10 from Sacred Heart Village in Avilla.

Lorene was born in Allen County Indiana to Samuel and Bertha Steiner.  She is preceded in death by her parents and two sisters Alberta Irene (Steiner) Ely and Erma Joy (Steiner) Selking.

Lorene married her WWII-veteran husband Howard E. Wiley on March 5, 1947 in a marriage that lasted 66 years until his passing on April 9, 2013.

Her surviving children are Dr. James F. Wiley of Scottsdale, AZ; Samuel E. Wiley of Palm Beach Gardens, FL; and Terri L. Wiley of Ft. Wayne IN.  Also surviving are two granddaughters Mandy Hedler of Palm Beach Gardens, FL and Major Rachel (Wiley) Liddy of Kaiserslautern, Germany; and her 5 greatgrandchildren Emma Hedler, Alyssa Hedler, Luke Hedler, Audrey Liddy and James Liddy.

Lorene attended Leo High School, Ft. Wayne Commercial College, and Computer Training School. She worked at General Electric Ft. Wayne for 6 years; Dana Incorporated 1 year; Thomson-McKinnon 13 years; and Shearson Lehman Brothers 5 years.

Calling for visitation will be held on Tuesday August 17 from 10:00AM to 11:00AM at Thomas Funeral Home, 1277 CR 56, Garrett, Indiana.

A service will be held immediately following the visitation at 11:00AM at Thomas Funeral Home.

A burial will be conducted at the Leo Indiana Cemetery, 14600 Leo Rd following the service.

Memorial contributions in Lorene’s name may be made to Auburn Alliance Church or Child Evangelism Fellowship of NE Indiana.

Lorene loved to serve God by volunteering as Board Member and children’s teacher at Indian Village Church of God; Board Committee member and children’s teacher at Auburn Alliance Church for 21 years. For 19 years she served as Secretary on the Board of Child Evangelism Fellowship of NE Indiana. She volunteered at the Crisis Pregnancy Center of DeKalb for 6 plus years.

Lorene grew up during the war when she had one pair of shoes to last for 3 years. In post-war times her large family gatherings occurred with aunts and uncles from rural Leo, Grabill, Huntertown, and Cedarville all converging on the old Steiner farmstead.  Those were times when music was heard and fruit pies were shared. The petite high school girl played the ungainly trombone in the Leo High Band.   Lorene and her sisters Alberta and Erma Joy formed a vocal trio stunning the audience with three-part harmonies of the old hymns. Alberta let Lorene use her accordion to learn to play. They sang and swayed to the popular tunes like “The Boogey Woogey Bugle Boy of Company B”.  Lorene played the piano well and accompanied the hymn singing at church. Her love of music, like her love of God, was transferred to the whole family.

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