Edwina Wieser
Edwina Ann Perry Wieser died at her home on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. She was 95 years old and had lived in Lampasas for over 55 years.
A memorial service for Edwina will be held at First Presbyterian Church, Lampasas, Sunday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m., with the Reverend Kevin Jones officiating.
Edwina grew up in Hamilton and graduated from Hamilton High School. She was proud to be the high school football sweetheart for two years and had fond memories of going to dances at the Perry Country Club. She had a horse of her own, and her father once said that she could ride “like a Comanche.” She also had fond memories of accompanying her father to his farm and helping him graft pecan trees.
In April of 1947, when she was 19 years old, Edwina married Vincent Wieser in her parents’ home in Hamilton. They lived in Hamilton until the 1960s when they moved to Lampasas because the Wieser Mill burned to the ground, and the trains stopped running through Hamilton.
It goes without saying that Edwina was full of life and very, very funny. She loved to make people laugh. She had an amazing repertoire of humorous jokes and sayings that she plugged into almost every conversation. She loved to sing and could recite whole poems.
Not long before she died, she said, “I feel like that man who flung himself on a horse and rode off in all directions.”
Last year on her 94th birthday, dressed in hot pink sweatpants and sweatshirt and sporting a pink wide-brimmed hat and large sunglasses, she laughed, showed off her brand new, sizeable, cloisonne frog, and sang, “Froggy Went a Courtin,” while we videotaped her. Hilarious!
Edwina loved dogs. She had a lot of dogs during her years in Lampasas. She gave them amusing names such as J. Frank Doby and Missy Sweet Cakes. Most of them were rescue dogs including one she found when it was a puppy, abandoned and hiding under a parked car. Those were very lucky dogs indeed! A saying on the wall of her kitchen is a great expression of how she felt about them. It says, “Those who say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend haven’t owned a dog.”
Edwina was a lover of opera and ballet. One of her favorite operas was Samson and Delilah. She loved listening to “My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice,” one of the most beautiful arias in opera.
She also loved the songs of the Kingston Trio and would play her CD on Christmas Eve every year.
She liked sports and was good at them.
In addition to riding horses like a Comanche, she was a really good golfer. She and a group of friends played at the golf course in Lampasas for years, often 36 holes in one day.
In her younger days, she played tennis and was a beautiful swimmer. As children, we learned that she admired the famous Olympic swimmer and actress Esther Williams.
Auntwina loved Lampasas and supported the animal shelter, her church, programs in the schools and other endeavors. She loved her family, her numerous friends and the people who took care of her home and yard. She loved the caregivers who took such good care of her during her last days.
Many heartfelt thanks to all who helped her with daily living, visited her, called her, brought her food, made sure her bills were paid, managed home repairs, etc.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Vertna Perry of Hamilton; her husband, Vincent Wieser; her sister, Mary Murphy; and many, many aunts, uncles and cousins.
She is survived by nieces Mary Ann Murphy Wavell, Sara Murphy Sundstrom, Jean Wieser Roesler and Mary Wieser. All of us nieces called her “Auntwina.” We also called her “Weenie” when we were little children.
In lieu of flowers, you may donate to the Friends of Lampasas Animal Shelter, the First Presbyterian Church of Lampasas or the charity of your choice.
Sneed-Carnley Funeral Chapel has charge of arrangements.
