Martha Viola Burkart Wilken of Mountain Home, AR, passed away Friday, January 13, 2012 at the Baxter County Hospice House. She was aged 91 years. She was born in Meade, KS, on March 5, 1920. She resided in western Kansas for the first 30 years of her life, until in 1950 she and her husband moved their young family to Mountain Home, AR. Mrs. Wilken experienced much of the trials and tribulations of the twentieth century, weathering the great dust bowl era of the 1930s in western Kansas, and then enduring the Great Depression in the 1930s until marrying a wheat farmer, George C. Wilken, in 1942. That same year saw the birth of their first daughter and George's enlistment in the Army to serve in the European campaign of World War II. Seriously wounded in 1944, George returned to his wife and daughter, Georgia Lea, in 1944, recovered from his injuries and welcomed a second daughter, Donna Beth, in 1945. Their son Denny Dean was born two years later in 1947.
In 1950, the young family moved to the Ozark Mountains, settling just north of Mountain Home, AR, near the Missouri border. Martha spent her life as a mother and homemaker, enjoying quiet time at home with her family, as well as regular visits to the emerging entertainment center of Branson, MO. Martha was a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother who was dearly loved and respected by her entire family. A devout believer in Christ, Martha did not belong to a specific church yet identified with the Presbyterian faith throughout her life.
In her later years, following the death of George, Martha took up an old hobby of crafting handmade potholders and hot pads, sewn on her 1940s-era Singer sewing machine, to give to friends and relatives. Over the course of two years, Martha created over 1,000 pairs of potholders, which have been distributed far and wide across the US and to multiple foreign countries on six different continents (these include England, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, and South Africa). Martha refused any payment for these handcrafted pieces, giving them to family members and friends to distribute to their own friends and relations. Martha was oft rewarded, however, with numerous thank you notes sent from delighted recipients across the US and the world, which made her quite proud, and her family even more so.
Mrs. Wilken is survived by one sister, Ada May Burkart Roemer of Prairie Grove, AR; two daughters, Georgia Lea Barrett of Mountain Home, AR, and Donna Beth Treat of Fayetteville, AR; one son, Denny Dean Wilken of Salem, AR; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Mrs. Wilken was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, George Carl Wilken, in 2009.
Funeral services for Martha Wilken will be held Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 2:00 P.M at the Roller Funeral Home Chapel, with Life Tribute Celebrant Frank J. Daniels officiating. A visitation will be held Sunday from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to the Hospice House of Mountain Home, AR.
In 1950, the young family moved to the Ozark Mountains, settling just north of Mountain Home, AR, near the Missouri border. Martha spent her life as a mother and homemaker, enjoying quiet time at home with her family, as well as regular visits to the emerging entertainment center of Branson, MO. Martha was a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother who was dearly loved and respected by her entire family. A devout believer in Christ, Martha did not belong to a specific church yet identified with the Presbyterian faith throughout her life.
In her later years, following the death of George, Martha took up an old hobby of crafting handmade potholders and hot pads, sewn on her 1940s-era Singer sewing machine, to give to friends and relatives. Over the course of two years, Martha created over 1,000 pairs of potholders, which have been distributed far and wide across the US and to multiple foreign countries on six different continents (these include England, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, and South Africa). Martha refused any payment for these handcrafted pieces, giving them to family members and friends to distribute to their own friends and relations. Martha was oft rewarded, however, with numerous thank you notes sent from delighted recipients across the US and the world, which made her quite proud, and her family even more so.
Mrs. Wilken is survived by one sister, Ada May Burkart Roemer of Prairie Grove, AR; two daughters, Georgia Lea Barrett of Mountain Home, AR, and Donna Beth Treat of Fayetteville, AR; one son, Denny Dean Wilken of Salem, AR; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Mrs. Wilken was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, George Carl Wilken, in 2009.
Funeral services for Martha Wilken will be held Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 2:00 P.M at the Roller Funeral Home Chapel, with Life Tribute Celebrant Frank J. Daniels officiating. A visitation will be held Sunday from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to the Hospice House of Mountain Home, AR.
Martha Viola Burkart Wilken of Mountain Home, AR, passed away Friday, January 13, 2012 at the Baxter County Hospice House. She was aged 91 years. She was born in Meade, KS, on March 5, 1920. She resided in western Kansas for the first 30 years of her life, until in 1950 she and her husband moved their young family to Mountain Home, AR. Mrs. Wilken experienced much of the trials and tribulations of the twentieth century, weathering the great dust bowl era of the 1930s in western Kansas, and then enduring the Great Depression in the 1930s until marrying a wheat farmer, George C. Wilken, in 1942. That same year saw the birth of their first daughter and George's enlistment in the Army to serve in the European campaign of World War II. Seriously wounded in 1944, George returned to his wife and daughter, Georgia Lea, in 1944, recovered from his injuries and welcomed a second daughter, Donna Beth, in 1945. Their son Denny Dean was born two years later in 1947.
In 1950, the young family moved to the Ozark Mountains, settling just north of Mountain Home, AR, near the Missouri border. Martha spent her life as a mother and homemaker, enjoying quiet time at home with her family, as well as regular visits to the emerging entertainment center of Branson, MO. Martha was a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother who was dearly loved and respected by her entire family. A devout believer in Christ, Martha did not belong to a specific church yet identified with the Presbyterian faith throughout her life.
In her later years, following the death of George, Martha took up an old hobby of crafting handmade potholders and hot pads, sewn on her 1940s-era Singer sewing machine, to give to friends and relatives. Over the course of two years, Martha created over 1,000 pairs of potholders, which have been distributed far and wide across the US and to multiple foreign countries on six different continents (these include England, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, and South Africa). Martha refused any payment for these handcrafted pieces, giving them to family members and friends to distribute to their own friends and relations. Martha was oft rewarded, however, with numerous thank you notes sent from delighted recipients across the US and the world, which made her quite proud, and her family even more so.
Mrs. Wilken is survived by one sister, Ada May Burkart Roemer of Prairie Grove, AR; two daughters, Georgia Lea Barrett of Mountain Home, AR, and Donna Beth Treat of Fayetteville, AR; one son, Denny Dean Wilken of Salem, AR; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Mrs. Wilken was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, George Carl Wilken, in 2009.
Funeral services for Martha Wilken will be held Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 2:00 P.M at the Roller Funeral Home Chapel, with Life Tribute Celebrant Frank J. Daniels officiating. A visitation will be held Sunday from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to the Hospice House of Mountain Home, AR.
In 1950, the young family moved to the Ozark Mountains, settling just north of Mountain Home, AR, near the Missouri border. Martha spent her life as a mother and homemaker, enjoying quiet time at home with her family, as well as regular visits to the emerging entertainment center of Branson, MO. Martha was a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother who was dearly loved and respected by her entire family. A devout believer in Christ, Martha did not belong to a specific church yet identified with the Presbyterian faith throughout her life.
In her later years, following the death of George, Martha took up an old hobby of crafting handmade potholders and hot pads, sewn on her 1940s-era Singer sewing machine, to give to friends and relatives. Over the course of two years, Martha created over 1,000 pairs of potholders, which have been distributed far and wide across the US and to multiple foreign countries on six different continents (these include England, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, and South Africa). Martha refused any payment for these handcrafted pieces, giving them to family members and friends to distribute to their own friends and relations. Martha was oft rewarded, however, with numerous thank you notes sent from delighted recipients across the US and the world, which made her quite proud, and her family even more so.
Mrs. Wilken is survived by one sister, Ada May Burkart Roemer of Prairie Grove, AR; two daughters, Georgia Lea Barrett of Mountain Home, AR, and Donna Beth Treat of Fayetteville, AR; one son, Denny Dean Wilken of Salem, AR; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Mrs. Wilken was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, George Carl Wilken, in 2009.
Funeral services for Martha Wilken will be held Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 2:00 P.M at the Roller Funeral Home Chapel, with Life Tribute Celebrant Frank J. Daniels officiating. A visitation will be held Sunday from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to the Hospice House of Mountain Home, AR.
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