Sue (Pierson) Winkler

Wauneta Sue (Pierson) Winkler passed away on April 14, 2023 in Nebraska City, NE.  She was born at home in Hamburg, Iowa on March 27, 1947, to Doris (Bennett) and Carl Pierson.

Sue attended elementary school in Riverton, IA, and graduated from Hamburg High School with the Class of 1965.  Her first job was at Wright’s Orchard where she picked fruit.  She then worked at Interstate Nurseries. 

Sue and Dale Hendrickson, along with sister and brother-in-law, Judy and Bill Bennett, opened the Village Inn Restaurant in Hamburg in the mid-seventies.  Later, Sue worked at Ocoma Foods, and then Excel/Cargill where she worked for 30 years before retiring.

Sue married Charlie Winkler on November 30, 1984, during a private ceremony at Trinity Church in Hamburg, IA.

She was a great cook and loved to make new recipes.  She also loved to make desserts that would end up at her brother Terry’s house after she and Charlie had a small piece.  Sue was an animal lover.  She always had a small dog, and she and Charlie would take in stray cats that needed a home.  She loved to share the antics of her pets and Charlie.  These stories always instilled a sense of love and happiness.   Sue loved to shop!  She and her sister, Jeanie, spent many hours wondering the aisles looking at everything in the shop.  She was devoted to her husband and family and made sure that Charlie had everything he needed.  Before her mother passed, Sue visited her daily and as her mother aged, Sue helped her brother Terry care for her.  She managed this while ensuring Charlie and her pets had plenty of love and attention.

Like her mother and sisters, Sue did an incredible job of ensuring that family ties were kept strong even though many family members lived far from Hamburg.  She knew everyone’s birthday and reached out often.  Sue loved spending time with her nieces and nephews and took a great interest in their lives and ensured that they all felt special.  Many of the nieces and nephews think of Sue as a second mother.

She leaves behind her husband, Charlie Winkler of Hamburg; her brother Terry Pierson of Hamburg; her sister Janice (Pierson) Martin of Auburn, NE, sister-in-law Janeth Winkler of Henderson, NV and many nieces, nephews and friends.

Sue was preceded in death by her siblings:  Linda Kay Pierson, Lynn Ray Pierson, Judy Bennett, Carl “Butch” Pierson, and Jean (Pierson) Poirier; parents Doris Ann and Carl Irwin Pierson and her first husband Dale Hendrickson.

A Graveside Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at Mt. Olive Cemetery southeast of Hamburg.

In honoring her wishes, no visitation is scheduled.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Hearts United for Animals in Auburn, NE.

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