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Official Obituary of

Velva "Vel" Wickstrom

August 29, 1920 ~ October 21, 2012 (age 92) 92 Years Old

Velva Wickstrom Obituary

L. Velva Vel Wickstrom, 92, of Monticello, passed away at 11:23 p.m., on October 21, 2012 at the Piatt County Nursing Home, Monticello.
Graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, October 25, 2012 at the Bement Township Cemetery with Pastor Katie Hopper officiating. No Visitation. Mackey-Wright Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Vel was born the daughter of Rolia A. and Bessie Pet (Simpson) Tate on August 29, 1920 in her grandparents home, northwest of Dix, Illinois, the only child of two only children. She married Burney A. Wick Wickstrom on August 23, 1953 in Bement, IL. He passed away on February 23, 2009.
She was preceded in death by her parents and husband.
Vel began attending school by riding there on horseback. She graduated from Mt. Vernon Township High School in 1938, graduated from Southern Illinois University, and received her Masters Degree from George Peabody College, Nashville, TN in 1956. Vel began teaching at a one room school house in 1940, was a teacher and Principal in Bement from 1947-1962, and was Principal at Bottenfield School, Champaign, from 1968-1980. She later took on a second career as Piatt County Zoning Officer from 1983-2004.
Vel was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Bement and the PEO Sorority. Vel enjoyed doing needlework, collecting antiques, and was a voracious reader.
Memorials may be made to the Piatt County Nursing Home Foundation.

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