Vera Irene (Phetteplace) Sirinek

Vera Irene Sirinek passed away on January 20, 2012 in Chetek, Wisconsin at Knapp Haven Nursing Home, just 71 days short of her 99 ^th birthday. Vera was born to Welcome and Clara Slayton Phetteplace on March 31, 1913 in Barron County.

Vera and her husband Emil farmed in Barron County until they moved their family to Milwaukee on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941. There Vera was a wife, mother and avid golfer. The family returned to Chetek in 1947 and moved to Chicago in 1951 and then to Darien, IL. She worked as Executive Housekeeper for Stouffer’s Inn in Oakbrook for ten years before she and Emil retired to Phoenix, AZ in 1977. In 1999, Vera moved to Pearce, AZ where she resided in her own home until at the age of 98 went to live at Knapp Haven in Chetek. She had a very active social life in Pearce during that last decade.

Vera enjoyed many hobbies throughout her life including wood working, resin casting, lapidary and ceramics to name just a few. She loved playing Bingo and the slot machines whenever she got to the casino – probably because she was lucky at the games. Some of her most enjoyable times were those spent fishing with her brothers Loyal and Otto Phetteplace, from Silver Lake and Chetek’s chain of lakes to Lake Michigan and the Pacific Ocean. Her road trip to Alaska with Otto was one of her life’s highlights.

Her hospitality anchored years of family celebrations. She kept in touch with nieces and nephews after her siblings were gone. Vera is the last of her generation and her positive attitude will be missed by those who knew her. She encouraged everyone to live a full life and as she put it, “I’ve done about everything I wanted to do.”

Vera is survived by two daughters and one son, Mildred Isaacson (Herbert), Norman Sirinek (Sharon) and Harriet/Holly Bertling. Her grandchildren are Marilou Grant (Capper), Bonnie Miller (Doug), Alice Hain (Tom), Kathy Rollain, Christina Camp, David Elwood (Sharon), Dennis Elwood, Donald Elwood (Rachel), Denise Shoop, Michael Unterschuetz (Xiaoyan), Gary Unterschuetz (Alice), Carolyn Welsch and Mark Johnson. There are also 24 great-grandchildren and several great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Emil, infant son Emil Lyle, and daughters Dorothy Weiss and Linda Greene and two granddaughters.

The funeral service for Vera will be on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:00 A.M. at the Burnham-Ours Funeral Home in Chetek. Pastor John Kurschner will officiate the service.  The family will greet visitors at the funeral home from 9 a.m. – until the service time at 11 a.m.   Vera will be laid to rest alongside her husband at the Lakeview Cemetery in Chetek. Casket Bearers will be family members. The family wishes to invite their guests to join them at Chetek Lutheran Church for fellowship and lunch following the cemetery service.

To express online condolences, please visit www.burnhamours.com

The Burnham-Ours Funeral Home of Chetek has been entrusted with arrangements.