VASSAR, Kan. – Jette Lee (Howard) Wigger, 88, died Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, at home with family by her side. She was born Jan. 19, 1934, the daughter of Charles W. and Marjorie (Jessop) Howard.
Jette Lee graduated from Michigan Valley High School in 1951. On September 21, 1952, she married Kenneth E. Wigger.
A talented musician, Jette Lee played piano and accordion, sang and yodeled. Known as the Tumbleweed Sweetheart, Jette Lee was the first woman in Kansas with her own radio program. She was a DJ and was the host of the Hillbilly Hayride of KOFO in Ottawa, Kan., from 1950 to 1952.
Jette Lee was a dedicated farm wife and mother who spent her days raising her seven children. Whether gardening, tending chickens, cooking, cleaning or doing laundry, she always had a song in her heart.
Jette Lee worked at Lamont Hill Restaurant as a cook, and at Hilltop Nursing Home as a certified medication aide, where she was awarded the Kansas Nurse Aide of the Year in 1992. She worked hard serving others her entire life, and provided direct end-of-life care and support to several family members.
She enjoyed traveling with her family. Her favorite destinations included Nashville, Tenn., and Branson, Mo. As an avid Royals fan, Jette Lee attended many ball games, including spring training in Surprise, Ariz. She also enjoyed the Buffalo Round-Up, in South Dakota, and yearly bear hunting trips to Minnesota.
She was a member of the Michigan Valley United Methodist Church, MI singing group, and the Vassar Community Center Board, Vassar, Kan. She volunteered at the Vassar Playhouse and occasionally performed there. Jette Lee was honored as the Osage County Mother of the Year in 1990, and was the grand marshal of the 2011 Vassar Fun Fest. She left us with a life well lived and was the epitome of serving others.
Jette Lee loved her family and displayed her strong faith throughout her life. She was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth, Dec. 23, 1989; father, Charlie, in 1984; mother, Marjorie, in 1977; sister, Marguerite (Peggy) Howard, in 1938; granddaughter, Emily Wigger, in 1990; in-laws, Henry and Frieda Wigger, in 1988; brother and sister-in-law, Lawrence and Eileen Wigger, in 2020; and niece, Julie (Wigger) Grossman, in 2010.
She will be lovingly remembered by her children, Anita (Roger) Williams, Loveland, Colo.; Peggy (Tom) Hillmon, Lenexa, Kan.; Diane Wigger, Paris, France; Dean (Brenda) Wigger, Pomona, Kan.; Joan (Mike) Hoeschen, Max, Minn.; Jean Wigger Teig, Vassar; and Larry (Sandy) Wigger, Lyndon, Kan.; 15 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; sister, Terry (Ed) Altic, Pomona; nephews, Doug (Tracy) Altic, Curt (Sarah) Altic, Daryl (Dev) Altic, David (Karen) Wigger, and Howard (Kimberly) Grossman; and many great nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at Michigan Valley United Methodist Church. Inurnment will be in the Vassar Cemetery, Vassar. The family will receive friends 6:30-8 p.m. Friday, at Feltner Funeral Chapel, Lyndon.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Michigan Valley United Methodist Church or the Vassar Community Center, and sent in care of the Feltner Funeral Home, 818 Topeka Ave., Lyndon, KS 66451. Condolences can be left at feltnerfuneralhome.com.
