Evelyn Jeannette Wienecke

Evelyn Jeannette Wienecke, 98, of Kansas City, Mo., and Boerne, Texas, died on April 24, 2021. 

A farewell viewing was held from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 8, at Jones Funeral Home Villa Ridge.

A graveside memorial followed immediately after at Rose Hill Cemetery in Pulaski.

She was born June 11, 1922, in Olmsted, the daughter of Irvine and Rena Eastwood. 

Evelyn Jeannette Eastwood married John Melton Wienecke on Sept. 21, 1940. They were married 56 years until Melt’s passing in 1996. 

After his service in World War II, Melt was called to the ministry. Together they served the needs of the Nazarene pastorates in Irvine, Ky., and Asheville, N.C. They were recruited to the Church of the Nazarene world headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., to serve as editors. 

She was the head of the children’s ministries and Vacation Bible School materials until her retirement at 65. 

She was very active in her church, serving for many years on the church board and as a greeter. 

As a personal outreach ministry, she founded a woman’s support group which met all day every Monday at her church. This ministry is still drawing women to the church and Christ and is the longest continuous outreach ministry of the church. 

She also served on mission trips to Dominica, Honduras, Madagascar and the Navajo Nation, where she taught women to perfect their handcrafted items and to provide income for their families. As she taught these classes she introduced and won many of them to Christ. 

In her world travels she accrued a collection of 75 Nativities which she displayed at her church every year from Thanksgiving through New Year, kicking off each church Christmas season. 

Her private ministry was her love of ceramics which she taught weekly from her home studio. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; baby brother Dale; brother-in-law Robert Slack; niece Rebecca Barg; sister Georgia Lee Caudle; brother-in-law Orv Kinney; sister Rena Kinney; and her husband, Melt Wienecke. 

She is survived by her sister, Irma Slack; her four children, Sharon Hensley, Judith Doerr, Steve Wienecke and wife Kaye, Linnea Holton and husband Richard; nine grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. She was the mother everyone wished they had.

To sign the online guestbook, visit http://www.jones-funeral.com.

Jones Funeral Home Villa Ridge was in charge of local arrangements.