Luella "Lu" Wetzel

Luella “Lu” Wetzel,  84, Fargo, formerly of Bismarck, was ushered into the presence of Jesus on March 21, 2020.  She had been a resident of Villa Maria Care Center, Fargo.

Luella was born August 14, 1935, in Blue Grass.  She was the daughter of Albert and Emma (Kessler) Mindt.  She married Ewald Wetzel on September 26, 1953 and they walked together hand-in-hand through life for 63 years prior to his death in July 2017.  Their marriage was blessed with the birth of their only child, Vicky. 

Luella spent many years of her life taking care of children, going into their homes while their parents traveled.  She loved doing that and developed very close relationships with many of the families, some becoming like extended family.   She welcomed the children home from school with warm cookies or freshly baked caramel rolls that were second to none!  Suppertime she treated them to German delicacies they had never experienced like cheese buttons and knoephla!  Even if they didn’t have a cell of German in them they became lovers of German food and raved about it to their parents. It was usually a request when she returned to care for them.  Her love of cooking and baking was a guarantee that her freezer was always full of treats to bring out for company.  Christmas was one of her favorite times of the year to bake and her assortment of Christmas “goodies” was endless!  She loved “a good cup of coffee” as she would refer to it.  When shopping with her you could plan on stopping to have coffee with a chocolate candy hidden in her purse.  She enjoyed entertaining friends with a delicious dinner and often a newfound recipe.  The evening most often culminated in a  game of dominoes.  She enjoyed taking trips with Vicky and her family.  She was always a good sport, accompanying Lindsey on the wild rides at DisneyWorld while the rest of the family waited on a bench. 

In her later years she had a part-time job with a marketing company and would hand out information and samples for new products at WalMart, Target and grocery stores.

She sang in the choir at Evangel Church for many years and her love for children led her to volunteering with the 2 and 3-year olds.  She could also be found helping fold the church bulletins for the next Sunday’s services. 

Reading the Bible and prayer were a daily priority that brought her to her close walk with God.  In the last year before her dementia advanced, she spent much time reading her “One Year Bible” and was always way ahead of the date she was supposed to be reading.  Her prayers for her family will be sorely missed. 

She and Ewald spent winters at Fort Myers Beach, FL.  Her family looked forward to joining them for a warm get-away and being treated to shopping, jet skiing and favorite restaurants!  In September of 2014 she and Ewald relocated to Touchmark in Fargo to be closer to Vicky.  In May of 2016 she joined Ewald at Villa Maria where she resided until her death. 

Those left cherishing her memory are her daughter, Vicky (Dennis) Wang,  Fargo;  her granddaughter, Lindsey (John) Winkle, Palm Desert, CA and her great-grandson, Grant Winkle.  She is also survived by her brother, Roy (Pat) Mindt, Bismarck. 

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 25, at Evangel, 3225 N 14^th St, Bismarck. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. 

Burial will be held at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Bismarck.

Due to Covid-19 it is very important to the family that EVERYONE wear a mask and social distancing will be followed.