Anita Marie Werthman, 88 years old, is now with the Lord and her husband Tom of nearly 70 years. She left us early on October 1st, of 2026 after a short battle with infectious pneumonia at the Marshfield Medical Center.
Anita was born January 15, 1938, in the cherished small town of Lena, Wisconsin. She was the daughter of Veronica “Verna,” (Adams) LeFevre and Eugene LeFevre. Anita went to Catholic grade school at St. Therese in Appleton, and had many memories and friends there that she told us all about. She graduated from Appleton High School and married Thomas Michael Werthman in 1956. As everyone knows, Tom was the love of her life, as they had a relationship everyone saw and admired. They were inseparable and adored one another through all of life’s ups and downs. They had two children, Michael and Patricia. Family always came first, and she always saw the good in every one of her kids, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and always wanted the best for them.
Anita loved to do things and thrived on being busy. Certainly shopping for shoes, and attire was a passion of hers that anyone who knew her, was aware of. She also loved to travel, enjoyed live entertainment, gambling at the casinos with Tom, going to Las Vegas, and later traveling with kids and grandkids. She was also an avid Green Bay Packers fan, loved to travel to home and away games, and also the Milwaukee Brewers. She was able to go to New York, Fiji, Mississippi, Minneapolis Minnesota, New Zealand, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Hawaii, Italy, and London. One of her favorite sites was the Statue of Liberty, she wanted everyone to see and experience the “Statue!” She was very patriotic and proud of her American heritage and cried every time she heard the National Anthem. Getting to attend a presidential inauguration added to her pride.
In her early years, Anita worked various restaurant and office jobs in Milwaukee and Menomonee Falls to help with her growing family’s finances. In 1974, Tom and Anita moved their family to Marshfield to open Mall Furniture. She stayed fit by being a member of a variety of exercise classes through the Y, and other places. She continued that up until Covid shut the country down. She loved to keep moving and believed in it. She also participated in many community groups in her early years, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Anita loved to play cards and was part of singles and couples Bridge groups. She was also an active member in both the Menomonee Falls Community League and The Newcomers club. She was an active Catholic church goer her whole life and served for funeral lunches in the Falls. She also assisted with hot lunch and the library at St. Mary’s grade school in Menomonee Falls.
Anita was preceded in death by her parents, Eugene & Veronica LeFevre; her brothers, Wayne and Ronald; and her husband of nearly 70 years, Thomas Werthman in January of this year.
She is survived by her sister, Lynn Ann; children, Michael and Patricia, and their spouses, Linda and Mark. She is also survived by very special nieces, Diane, Karla, and Teri (Barnes); and nephew; James Barnes. Grandchildren, Thomas (great-grandchild, Owen), Amy (great-grandson, Nathan), Tracy (great-grandchild, Arlo), Angie and her spouse, Nate (great-grandchildren, Conner, Drew, and Ethan), and Andrew and his spouse, Ashley (great-grandchild, Wesley), of son Michael “Mike,” and Linda. Grandchildren of daughter Patricia “Pat,” and spouse, Mark, Kristen & husband, Jeff (great-grandchildren, Eloise and Augustine), Michael and wife, Margaret (with great-grandchildren, Lainey and Layton), and Jacob and fiance, Ashley.
Anita also leaves behind many friends, both long term, and new ones she met at Aster. She was a very social person, and appreciated and loved the many friends she had throughout her life. She was most grateful to Beckie Rogers, her hairdresser for making her look nice every Tuesday, until her final preparation for burial.
Our families would like to sincerely thank the exceptionally compassionate care of Aster Assisted Living, as both Tom and Anita considered Aster as their home and they were treated with the highest respect and compassion by so many great people. We’d love to list all of them, but want all of them to know we are forever grateful for the valuable care that they so graciously gave, that we consider them to be forever special to our family. She also had great care at the Marshfield Medical Center and North Shore Health Care Rehabilitation on west 14th St.
Visitations will be held both Friday, October 16th, from 4:00-6:00 PM, and 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM on Saturday, October 17th, at Hansen-Schilling Funeral Home, at 1010 E. Veterans Parkway, Marshfield, WI. A funeral service will be held at Hansen-Schilling Funeral Home at 11:00 AM, Father Jared Clements will officiate. Entombment at McMillan Memorial Gardens Mausoleum will take place at a later date. There will be a lunch to follow the funeral service at the funeral home. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend.
