Ingeborg Wehner – beloved wife, mother, grandmother, a friend to all whom she met – passed away early on the morning of November 11, 2013. She was 94 years old. A celebration of her life will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 16, at The Memorial at Sunset Event Center 915 Bypass Highway in Richland. There will be a reception following the service.

She is survived by her husband Alfred; daughter Patricia and husband Mark Mushegan; Alfred Jr. Ali and wife Diane; Jackie Diane and husband Michael Olson; and Peter and wife Cindy; 11 grandchildren – Alex and Ashley Mushegan; Nikki Wehner Cline and Kelsey Wehner; Stephanie, Sarah, Benjamin Olson and Heather Olson Bode; and John Paul, Christine and David Wehner.

Ingeborg H. Miller was born in Strausberg, Germany on June 18, 1919 to Katharina and Wilhelm Mueller. Her loving grandparents helped raise her. She left Germany to join her mother in New York City when she was 14 years old. She attended New York City College, and after graduation she worked for the U.S. government and subsequently for the Royal Netherlands Steamship Company. In 1953, she met a newly arrived immigrant to America, Dr. Alfred Wehner. They married in 1955. It was the beginning of a beautiful love story that brought her four children, all of whom revered her.

Inge enjoyed crossword puzzles, good books especially biographies and spending time at their cabin at Rimrock Lake, making waffles with whipped cream and strawberries, traveling the world, knitting and crocheting, playing cards, and watching Jeopardy and her Dallas Cowboys. She delighted in listening to music, her afternoon coffee with her husband and waking her children, not with an alarm clock but a song. A highlight for her in recent years was the annual family reunion, first at Cannon Beach, Oregon and later in Richland.

Above all Inge loved, oh how she loved, her husband and children and their families. And to anyone who entered into her world – family, the friends of her children, neighbors, members of her bridge groups, book review group, teachers, bus drivers, hairdressers, people who worked at grocery stores, shoe stores, card stores, fruit markets and pharmacies – she brought joy, laughter, and an encouraging word. She was known for always having a smile on her face, a twinkle in her eye, a ready laugh, and her cute German accent. Inge continually looked at the bright side of things. For she believed with all her heart that God was the author of each of our stories, that things would inevitably turn out well. With her, they almost always did.

The devotion she inspired in those who loved her, and were loved by her, is impossible to capture in words. A passion for life, selflessness and generosity, grace and dignity, and such kindness – those are among the rarest of human qualities. In Inge Wehner they each found a home. And even in her last years, as her mind began to leave her due to dementia, her spirit never did.

She spent the final year-and-a-half of her life at the Guardian Angel Homes, which took wonderful care of her. In her final hours, surrounded by her family who conveyed words of love to her, Inge opened her eyes for the final time, smiled, and said "Thank you, thank you, thank you, that's sweet." It was the last words she spoke, perfectly fitting the wonderful person she was, one who was always thankful to others.

Right until the end Inge was ready with a smile, at peace with the world, a light in our lives. That light continues to shine in the hearts of her family and the countless lives she touched all along the way. And they each take comfort in knowing she is in a place where the morning has begun, where all things are made new again, in the arms of our loving Lord.