Rita Werne, 91, formerly of Jasper

Rita Werne, 91, formerly of Jasper, passed away on Friday, Oct. 20 at the home of her daughter in Orlando, Fla.

Rita was born in Ireland on Jan. 5, 1932, the daughter of Ben and Victoria (Hopf) Sermersheim.

She married Donald Werne on Feb. 15, 1958, in St. Mary’s Catholic Church. He preceded her in death in June 2022. 

She worked for General Electric in Tell City for a number of years before her marriage.

Preceding her in death, in addition to her husband and parents, are a son-in-law, Jeff Blessinger; two brothers, Jerome and John Sermersheim; a sister, Dorothy Bartley; three sisters-in-law, LaVerne Sermersheim, Janice (Dolly) Sermersheim and Phyllis Sermersheim; four brothers-in-law, Robert Schnaus, Linus Fuhs, Edward Bartley and Sylvester Rohleder.

Rita is survived by two daughters, Kristie Blessinger of Orlando and Allison Werne of Florida; a son, Kevin (Joanne) Werne of Sunrise, Fla.; a brother, Robert Sermersheim of Jasper; three sisters, Rosemary (Rosie) Schnaus of Ireland, Elizabeth (Betts) Fuhs and Linda Rohleder, both of Jasper; six grandchildren, Travis Blessinger of Belle Isles, FL, Tori and Trevor Blessinger of Orlando, Danielle (Joel) Snyder of Plantation, FL, Michael and Joey Werne of Sunrise; two great-grandsons, Michael and Tristan Werne of Sunrise, and many nieces and nephews.  

A memorial Mass will be celebrated in St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1501 N. Alafaya Trail in Orlando on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, at 11 a.m. The interment will be at a later date in South Florida National Cemetery Veterans Affairs in Lake Worth, Fla.