WILLARD LAVERNE "Bill" CUENO

ANDERSON, CUENO, PUTZIER, KRAEMER, LESS, DARROW, SCHWEITZER, KLEINOW, DAVID, WHITWORTH, WOODS-WATTS, RETH, COBB

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 3/20/2003 at 18:26:47

Willard L. Cueno

Telegraph Herald - Wednesday, March 12, 2003

ZWINGLE, Iowa - Willard Laverne "Bill" Cueno, 84, of Sparta, Mo., formerly of Zwingle, died Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003, at A Lit'l Bit Country Private Care, Sparta.

Memorial services will be held at a later date at the Evangelical and Reformed Church, Zwingle. Burial of the cremated remains will be in the church cemetery in the family plot. The Adams Funeral Home, Ozark, Mo., is in charge of arrangements.

He was born on Oct. 30, 1918, in Jackson County, near Zwingle, son of Wilbur and Ruth (Anderson) Cueno.

He was a welder during World War II. He worked in the shipyards in Ottawa, Ill., building LST's. He was later employed by Rosenberg Auto Supply, Maquoketa. He owned and operated the Firestone Store, Anamosa. He also worked for 26 years first as a welder and later as a welding inspector at Allis Chalmers/Harneschfeger Corp., Cedar Rapids, until his retirement.

He joined St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Anamosa, in 1956 and was a faithful member until moving to Hiawatha in 1976 and later moving to Missouri in 1993. He worshiped God at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Ozark.

He married Florence Putzier. Together they had three children, Lila (Forrest) Kraemer, of Cedar Rapids, Joyce (Joey) Less, of Anamosa, and Kenneth Cueno.

He later married Mabel (Darrow) Schweitzer on Aug. 11, 1967, in Cedar Rapids. After his retirement, they enjoyed traveling through the United States and Canada visiting a large number of the national parks. They also enjoyed participating in buying and selling antiques at shows all over the midwestern states.

He was a fun-loving husband, loving father and an honest hard-working man.

He loved to fish which he was able to do in Rockaway Beach and Forsyth, Mo., until the last year of his life when his illness got worse.

Surviving are his wife, Mabel; his daughters; a brother, Lyle (Lorraine) Cueno, of Zwingle; four grandchildren, Patricia Kraemer, of Cedar Rapids, Katherine (Michael) Kleinow, of North Liberty, Brian (Joan) Kraemer, of Liberty, Mo., and Jeana David, of Anamosa; five great-grandchildren, Erin and Alex Kleinow, Justin and Blake Kraemer, and Nathan David; five stepchildren, Jacqueline (Doyle) Whitworth, of Odessa, Texas, Clarence (Deloris) Schweitzer, of Spencer, Rosalie (Charles) Woods-Watts, of Sparta, Merridy Reth, of Cedar Rapids, and Peggy Sue (Tom) Cobb, of Cedar Rapids; 13 step-grandchildren; several step-great-grandchildren and step-great-great-grandchildren; three nieces; two nephews; and two cousins.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Florence; his parents; a son, Kenneth Cueno; and a stepson, Dana John Schweitzer.