Gene Ann (Roth) Wayner

Gene Ann (Roth) Wayner, 92, of Washington, died peacefully at home at 11:45 a.m. on Monday, June 19, 2023. Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday June 24 at Calvary Community (Mennonite) Church in Washington, the Rev. Clayton Tinervin officiating. Burial will be in Glendale Memorial Gardens, Pekin. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday night at Mason-White Funeral Home in Washington. Gene Ann was born on May 31, 1931 in Morton, to Emma E. (Householter) and Wilber J. Roth, the third of three children. She married Robert H. Wayner Nov. 18, 1962 in Bloomington. He preceded her in death. She is survived by two sons, Mark A. (Emi) of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, Robert M. of Berwyn, IL, and one daughter, Mary E. Limas, of Washington; and six grandchildren, Nicholas Limas, Henry Limas, Jack Limas, Isabella Limas, Hugo Wayner, and Milo Wayner. Her parents, sister Doris, brother Morris, and son-in-law Chris Limas preceded her in death. She was raised on her parents farm outside Morton and attended a one-room schoolhouse with her sister and brother until the eighth grade. Her family then moved to her grandparents farm outside Gibson City, IL. She attended Gibson City High School and graduated in 1949. She attended Bluffton College for one year but returned home to take care of her ailing mother who died in 1951. She then attended Bethel College in Newton, KS where she had the wonderful opportunity to tour Europe singing in the Bethel College Acapella Choir-a lifetime highlight that she talked about for years to come. She then completed her education at Mennonite School of Nursing in Bloomington. She started her nursing career at Mennonite Hospital in Bloomington and continued at Methodist Hospital in Peoria completing her career at Valley Forge Physicians in Washington, working 20 years for Dr. Philip Baer, retiring in 1991. Ms. Wayner was beloved by all those who knew her and was known as an extremely compassionate nurse, mother, wife, grandmother, aunt, and sister. She was an accomplished self-taught piano and accordion player who enjoyed playing for her family and, occasionally, for her fellow congregants at Calvary Mennonite Church. She also enjoyed singing in the vocal ensemble Side by Side later in life as well as traveling to Hawaii, Japan, and other locations within the US. Other hobbies included playing pinochle, euchre, and other card games with family and friends as well as listening to gospel and boogie-woogie jazz. Memorials can be made to Mennonite School of Nursing at Illinois State University.