Browse the obituary of Fredricca W Ebert December 26 1925 December 24 2022 residing in Edgerton, Wisconsin for funeral burial details. Write a message of sympathy or a last tribute to perpetue the friendship thread
December 26 1925 December 24 2022
Obituary Edgerton— Fredricca Wilson Ebert, known better as Freddie or simply Grandma, died Christmas Eve morning at the age of 96. Having grown up without a mother, Freddie was a beloved mom, grandma and aunt who was playing peek a boo, racing Hot Wheels and soothing adolescent angst all her life. There was almost nothing that Grandma couldn’t make better with a hug and a piece of candy from one of her endless stockpiles of sweets. Freddie was born Dec. 26, 1925 to Robert and Elta (Hayse) Wilson in Grayson County, Kentucky. After her mother died when Freddie was 4, her father took her and her older brother, Bob, back to his father’s farm in Grayson County. Freddie loved her grandpa Seaberry Wilson and his farm where she and Bob ran wild and attended a one-room school as the men worked. But shortly, assorted female relatives decided that it just wasn’t proper for a little girl to be raised by men. So as her dad went back to Louisville to work on the railroad, Freddie was shuttled off to a series of relatives’ homes. Some of her caregivers were kind; others were not. When she was about 12, her father arrived with news that he had remarried and that Freddie had a baby half-sister, LeVerda. Freddie went to Louisville to live with her dad, new stepmother Sarah Swift, brother and baby LeVerda. Freddie attended an all-girls school, graduating from Halleck Hall in 1943. With World War II underway, Freddie took a job at an ammunition plant after graduation. When her brother got leave from the Air Force, Freddie went with Bob to the tavern down the street to dance and visit with friends. A group of soldiers from Fort Knox happened to be visiting the tavern that night. One of them, Harold Ebert, a farm kid from Illinois, asked her to dance. Soon every chance he got, Harold would take the bus to Louisville. To avoid the ire of Freddie’s stepmother, Harold would sneak up to the family porch and tie a ribbon around a chair leg. After work at the ammunition factory, Freddie would spot the ribbon and know to meet Harold at the tavern. They married on May 3, 1945. The couple settled in his hometown of Onarga, Illinois. Harold and all his brothers farmed in the area. Harold and Freddie had three children: David, Ronald and Judy. David died at 18. Their baby “Ronnie” lived less than a day. Only Judy lived to adulthood. Their house, however, was always filled with children — countless nephews, nieces, friends and neighbors — who found a second home with the couple. Freddie and Harold had 25 happy years together before Harold’s death from lung cancer in 1970. After his death, Freddie and Judy auctioned off the farm equipment and moved to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. When Judy married, Freddie provided a down payment on the newlyweds’ house and moved in with the couple. When the couple’s first child was born, Beth, Judy returned to work and made Freddie her daughter’s primary caregiver. After adding daughter Jennifer to the family Judy became a stay-at-home mom. But Freddie remained Beth’s primary caregiver and fiercest advocate — teaching her to read and discover stories, drying countless tears and always being her biggest cheerleader. Freddie continued to live with Judy until Judy’s sudden death in 2015. Then she moved into Beth’s home, joining Beth, her husband Joe Hardtke and her great grandson Cian Hardtke. At their home, Freddie did what she always did — spoiled the child of the house along with teaching a third generation of her family kindness and empathy. After breaking a hip in March 2021, Freddie moved to Our House Senior Living in Janesville where she died December 24, 2022. She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Elta Wilson, brother Robert Wilson Jr., her husband, Harold Ebert, and their three children; David, Ronald and Judy. She is survived by her granddaughter, Beth Hardtke, grandson-in-law Joe Hardtke and great grandson Cian Hardtke. She was also survived by her beloved sister, LeVerda Mollyhorn and her family, a second granddaughter, Jennifer Williams, and countless nieces and nephews. A memorial service for Freddie will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 2 at the Apfel-Ehlert Funeral Home, 315 Lord St., Edgerton. Visitation begins at 2 p.m. Burial will take place at the Onarga Township Cemetery at a later date. The family would like to thank the hospice staff at Agrace and the many wonderful caregivers at Our House, particularly Kathy, for caring for Freddie in her last days. Freddie would always tell the story of the night her mother died and how an angel appeared to her when she was crying. The angel told her that everything was going to be OK and to go hug her dad. Freddie believed that angel looked over her always. For Beth and so many others, Freddie was that angel. Read more
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Fredricca W Ebert December 26 1925 December 24 2022.
Apfel Ehlert Funeral Home & Cremation Services
Death notice for the town of: Edgerton, state: Wisconsin