Cecile J. “Cele” Engel, age 99 of Shawano, went to meet her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ early Saturday morning, February 29, 2020 at Birch Hill Care Center, where she had been a resident for the past 17 months.
Cele was born March 2, 1920 in the Town of Richmond, Shawano County, Wisconsin, a daughter of the late Frank and Susie (Ainsworth) Opperman. She attended the Forest School in the Town of Richmond. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Jacobi Lutheran Church, Town of Richmond, which is where she married Frank C. Engel on June 21, 1939. Following their marriage, the couple moved to Two Rivers, then to Texas. Frank went off to war and was captured by the German Army during the Battle of the Bulge. When Frank returned home, the couple moved to Shawano where Cele was a homemaker and stay at home mother. Frank preceded Cele in death on March 26, 1984.
Cele was a good and faithful member of St. James Lutheran Church, and served with the Tabitha Society. She also worked at the Shawano Civic Center, and volunteered on Election Day. Her hobbies included card playing, dart ball, crocheting, knitting, baking, and cooking. She provided meals to family and friends on a weekly basis, and will be remembered as a very charitable woman.
Cele will be missed by her loving and devoted daughter, Susan Leikin, of Jupiter, Florida; four grandchildren, Chris (Katie) Engel and Ben (Stephanie) Engel, both of Minneapolis, David Leikin of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Mark Leikin of Jupiter Florida; three great-grandchildren, Olivia, Jack, and Adelyn Engel; three sisters, Phyllis Lambries, Bernice Lambries, Joyce DeBauch; her daughter-in-law, Susan Engel; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her son, Todd Engel; two brothers, Wilber and Melvin “Breezy” Opperman; and two sisters, Mavis Rocklewitz and Lorraine Turman.
A funeral service for Cecile J. Engel will be held on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 11:00 AM at St. James Lutheran Church in Shawano. Pastor Mark Drengler will officiate. Interment will be in the Woodlawn Cemetery. Visitation will begin at the church on Thursday at 9:30 AM and will continue until the time of service. In lieu of flowers and plants, it was Cecile’s wish that donations be made to the Tabitha Society at St. James Lutheran Church.
