No picture provided.
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| Spouse: |
William Ripperger
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| Children: |
Helen M. Ripperger Lawler
Rev. William G. Ripperger
Rev. Harold A. Ripperger
Carroll L. Ripperger
Rev. Edward J. Ripperger
Louis A. Ripperger
Mary E. Ripperger O'Donnell
Robert J. Ripperger
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| Grandchildren: |
Marlene Andrews
Carol Kempf
Elaine Chance
William Lawler
Jana Heath
Mark Lawler
Kerri Ripperger
Stephen Ripperger
James Ripperger
Michael Ripperger
Teresa Radtke
John Ripperger
Thomas Ripperger
Ellen Paternoster
Susan Davitz
Michael O'Donnell
Molly Jessen
Shannon FitzGerald
Heidi Wethington
Joseph Ripperger and 42 Great Grandchildren
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| Parents: |
Otto G. Wissel and Magdalena Theobald Wissel
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| Siblings: |
Peter Wissel
Leo Wissel
Agnes Wissel Miers
Joseph Wissel
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| Grandparents: |
None listed
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| Family
Legacies™ |
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Cemetery Location Map to Gravesite |
Birth Date: 3/6/1902
Death Date: 10/24/2000
St. Joseph Cemetery
Section H, Lot 8, Grave 2
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| Hilda Wissel was born March 6, 1902, the first of Lena and Otto Wissel's five children. She spent her early years on a farm in Fayette County, Indiana. When she was eight, she moved to a farm near Enochsburg, Indiana, where she spent the years before marriage. It was very unusual in those days for a young farm girl to attend high school, but her parents allowed her to travel by horse and buggy to Batesville, Indiana, where she completed four years of high school in 1920. Her father asked her to promise not to marry until at least age 24 if they allowed her the 'luxury' of going to school.From an early age, Hilda wanted to be a teacher, and teach she did. Her first teaching job, after summer school at Ball State's Normal College was an assignment at the Kirschbaum School, one room schoolhouse near Peppertown, Indiana. 'Miss Hilda'; as she was known to her students and their parents, taught there for four years. After that, she took an assignment near her home in Enochsburg: fifth through eighth grades for one year, then first through fourth for three years. She taught both her sister Agnes and her brother Joe while at the school.In 1927, Hilda became engaged to Bill Ripperger, A World War I veteran from her father's hometown of St. Peters, Indiana. Having kept her promise to her father for she was now 26, Bill and Hilda married June 13, 1928 at St, John's Church in Enochsburg. Married ladies were not to teach in those days, so 'Miss Hilda' gave up her career, at least for a while. Early married life was in Cincinnati, then St. Peters and Brookville. From 1929 to 1937, Bill and Hilda had their first six children, Helen, William, Harold, Carroll, Edward and Louis. Hilda, formerly a career woman who contributed financially to the support of her family at home, now faced motherhood and greater domestic demands. Those were depression years, and life was a struggle raising a family of six children, the oldest whom was seven. Their 7th,Mary was born in early 1940's before the family moved from the country to Richmond, Indiana. In the late 1940's, Bob was the last addition to the family.To help support the family, Hilda returned to teaching at St. Andrews's School in Richmond in 1954. There she taught many of her nieces and nephews, her youngest son and her first grandchild, Marlene. She taught at St. Andrew's until 1961 when she, Bill, Mary and Bob moved to St. Catherine's Parish on the south side of Indianapolis. Hilda quickly found a teaching job with the help of Father John Betz at St. James, now Central Catholic School. She taught there from 1961 through 1968.On January 13, 1977, Hilda became a widow when her husband Bill died after complications from a stroke he suffered November 1976. Hilda's retirement years were spent at the house on Harvey Street, then Bethany Village Apartments, and finally at the St. Augustine Home on the north side of Indianapolis, where she died peacefully Tuesday evening, October 24, 2000.Hilda was a natural leader. She loved to talk and to write, and she journalized many life's events. Although I don't believe, she ever wrote down these exact precepts, here's what Hilda's life said to us through her example:1. Have faith and trust in God. Do not live in fear. Don't worry unnecessarily; the Lord DOES provide.2. Embrace change and find the opportunities it offers. Value education, be a lifelong learner.3. Communicate, talk to people, and get to know them and their stories. Help people to connect with each other, be a peacemaker.4. Try to capture in words what is going on with yourself, your family and friends and the world in which you live. Know your roots. Pass those roots onto your children and grandchildren.5. Always try to look your best.6. Finally, use your sense of humor and be able to laugh at yourself. |
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Hilda's parents, Otto and Lena Wissel on their Wedding Day.
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Hilda at 5 months old.
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Hilda and her class at the Kirschbaum School near Peppertown, Indiana, early 1920's.
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Hilda and Bill Ripperger on their Wedding Day, June 13, 1928.
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Hilda and Bill at the VA Hospital in Indianapolis, circa 1937.
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Hilda and Bill's 40th Anniversary. The family at St. Catherine's Church, Indianapolis, June 13, 1968.
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Hilda and Bill at Christmas 1971, on Harvey Street, Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Hilda with her brothers and sister, taken at the Wissel Reunion in Morris, Indiana, 1986. Hilda, Pete, Leo, Agnes and Joe.
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Hilda's 85th Birthday at Hollyhock Hill, Indianapolis, enjoying life.
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Hilda and her eight children on her 90th birthday, March 6, 1992, St. Thomas More Church Hall. Helen, Hilda, Louie, Ed, Carroll, Harold, Bill and Bob.
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