Elizabeth 'Liz' Wiss, 97

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Elizabeth “Liz” Wiss, 97, of Pana, died Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at 11:20 p.m. at her residence.

Funeral services were held Monday, Oct. 5, at Kennedy and Sons Funeral Home in Pana. Burial was held in Calvary Cemetery in Pana Township in Christian County.

Mrs. Wiss was born June 14, 1923, in Pana, the first child of Arthur and Elizabeth (Buttgereit) Kronshagen. She married John J. Dudra in 1945, at the very end of World War II, and he preceded her in death on Oct. 24, 1965. She then married A.J. Wiss II in 1970,  the sole owner and president of Pana Iron Store Co., Inc., and he preceded her in death on Oct. 21, 1984.

Raised in Pana, she spent her high school summer vacations babysitting the children of the owners of the Lecas Candy Factory. In 1940, she graduated from Pana Senior High School, and was briefly a waitress at Speedy’s Coffee House in Pana. She was a legal secretary for over 30 years to attorneys Joe P. Longwell, Carl H. Preihs, and John and Joseph Fribley. 

In 1960, she was the nationwide winner out of 75,000 women of the “Typical Homemaker” contest, hosted by National Family Opinion of Toledo, OH, and was awarded a five-day, sightseeing and shopping trip to New York City, NY.

She is survived by daughters, Donna (Gary) Maninfior of Mattoon and Crystal Farris of Pana; son, John Rod Dudra of Taylorville; stepdaughters, Mary Kay Isaacson of Westchester, OH, Janice LaBounty of Springfield and Linda Dust of Assumption; stepson, A.J. “Joe” (Sandie) Wiss III of Pana; grandsons, Jon (April) Burkhardt, Jr. of Mattoon, Ted Burkhardt of Effingham, Josh Dudra of Taylorville, Terrance “TJ” Farris of Ohlman and Tyler (fiancee Rachel) Farris of St. Louis, MO; granddaughters, Jane-Ann (John) Wallace of Tower Hill, Molly Grammas of Henderson, NV, and Jessica Augustine of Taylorville; several stepgrandchildren, great-grandchildren and stepgreat-grandchildren; and six sisters, Doris Pinkston and Marian Weber, both of Pana, Carol (Homer “Butch”) Walden of Shelbyville, Margaret (Bob) Sperry of Hoffman Estates, Henrietta Marley of Nokomis and Norma Creamer of Oreana.

In addition to her parents and two husbands, she was preceded in death by a sister, Thelma Smart; brother, Art Kronshagen; and stepson, Dr. Thomas Wiss.

Online condolences may be left at www.kennedypana.com.