Martha Jean ‘Jill’ Wieland | 105 | Jerseyville

Martha Jean “Jill” Wieland, of Jerseyville, passed away on Dec. 18, 2023 at age 105. She was born Aug. 21, 1918 in Taylorville, Illinois. She and her siblings attended a one-room school, then graduated from Taylorville Township High School. After graduating from High School at age 15, Jill attended Blackburn College at Carlinville, Illinois, where she participated in the work-study program as secretary to Dr. Hudson. She graduated from Blackburn in 1936 and then attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana for a year before becoming employed in the office of the Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, University of Illinois.
She married William Kenneth Wieland, of Jersey County, at the Taylorville Presbyterian Church on Sept. 1, 1940. Following their marriage, the couple lived in Alton until 1944 where they moved to the family farm in Dow where Bill took over the farm business from his father. They remained in that area until moving to Jerseyville in 1979.Jill was active in a number of organizations, including becoming an elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Jerseyville and serving on many committees in the church. She belonged to the Order of the Eastern Star, served as Worthy Matron of the Grafton Chapter in 1952, and served as Grand Lecturer for a number of years.  She as a member of PEO.  She organized the local DAR chapter in 1962, and served on many local and state committees for the organization. She served on the area Board of Children’s Home & Aid Society of Illinois, and was a foster mother for that organization for over 40 years (if you were adopted from there between 1962 and 2002, she probably rocked you as a baby). In 1999, she was chosen as the Illinois Mother of the Year and was also honored as a Woman of Distinction by the Alton YWCA. She is survived by her son, Daniel Wieland, of St. Ann, Missouri; her daughter, Martha (Marti) Wieland, of Jerseyville; two granddaughters, Kathryn E. Wieland of Champaign, Illinois and Meagan T. Arnold of Collinsville, Illinois, as well as many loving nieces and nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her sister, Eva Helena Gilman, her brother, Benjamin Melin Boyd, and all of her cousins, as well as her son-in-law, Jerry Arnold. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date. Memorials may be made to the Jerseyville Presbyterian Church, or Children’s Home & Aid Society of Illinois, 6 Crossroads Court, Alton, Illinois. Gent Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.  Additional information and online guest book may be found at www.gentfuneralhome.com