Wilda J. Branz Obituary (1931 - 2009)

PONTIAC - Wilda J. Branz, 77, Pontiac, died at 2:45 p.m. Sunday (May 17, 2009) at ASTA Care Center of Pontiac. Her funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Pontiac, with Monsignor Thomas Mack officiating. Burial will be at Swygert Cemetery, Swygert. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Duffy Funeral Home, Pontiac. The rosary will be recited at 3:45 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to St. Mary's Catholic Church building fund or St. James Auxiliary. She was born May 27, 1931, in Pontiac, daughter of Oliver and Dora A. Kimber Ogden. She married Richard L. Duffy on Feb. 3, 1955. She later married William G. Branz on Feb. 20, 1993, in Pontiac. He passed away Nov. 16, 1996. She is survived by her daughter, Jean (Keith) Bollinger, Chesterfield, Mo.; and son, David (Julie) Duffy, Chino Hills, Calif.; nine stepchildren, William Branz, Edwardsville; Janet Johnson, Pontiac; Mary Branz, Pontiac; Carol Boldt, Pontiac; Beverly Long, Pontiac; Susan Beaudette of California; Joyce Kerrins, Cullom; Connie Kerlin, Glenn Carbon; and John Branz, Pontiac; grandchildren, Ryan and Megan Duffy, Chino Hills, Calif.; and Erin and Brian Bollinger, Chesterfield, Mo.; 19 stepgrandchildren; and five stepgreat-grandchildren. She was preceded by her parents; husband; and one sister, Madeline Rosa. She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Pontiac. For many years, she was the coordinator of the Greetings program at St. Mary's. She was a member of the St. Mary's Women's Guild. Wilda was a volunteer at Saint James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center in Pontiac, member of the hospital auxiliary and held various offices including president, vice president and membership chairperson. She was a member of the Livingston County Farm Bureau and an election judge for many years. Wilda enjoyed playing cards with several groups of friends for many years. She enjoyed baking cookies and pies as well as entertaining friends and relatives. She loved her children and grandchildren dearly. They were the "light of her life." She had been employed at Bank of Pontiac from 1949-1963 as a teller and assistant cashier. Wilda also worked on the farm and was a homemaker. She attended rural Pontiac grade school and was a 1949 graduate of Pontiac Township High School.