Cleta Waechter

Cleta Lorene Waechter passed away surrounded by her children December 12, 2017, at her Brookdale Assisted Living home in Sun City, AZ She is predeceased by her husband of 63 years, Raymond Waechter, her parents, George and Lillie Mae Julian, her sister, Audrey Coffel, and her brothers, Clinton Julian and Charles Julian. She is survived by her three daughters and their husbands, Vera and Chris Lyons, Phoenix, AZ; Debbie and Tom Taegel, Phoenix, AZ; Ava and Chuck Ellis, Franklin, TN; and her son and his wife, Jeff and Kim Waechter, Rockvale, TN. She is also survived by nine grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. She was born in Ellsinore, Missouri, January 12, 1929, and relocated to St. Louis after her high school graduation. She took a job at Emerson Electric where she met and married Raymond Waechter on December 11, 1948. They spent the first 17 years of their marriage in St Peters, MO, before moving to Liberty, MO. Cleta worked as a Catholic grade school teacher until her retirement. Cleta was a practicing Catholic and attended St James Church in Liberty, MO, and St. Elizabeth Seton in Sun City, AZ. She and Ray spent their retirement years splitting their time between their homes in Liberty, MO and Phoenix, AZ, until they permanently relocated in Sun City, AZ, in 2001. She loved to sew, quilt and crochet when she was young and played golf after retirement. In addition, she really loved to play cards and was a talented and shrewd competitor. Cleta volunteered for more than 20 years as an auxiliary member at Liberty Hospital and loved to spend time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Visitation will be 4-6 p.m. with Rosary at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017 at Menke Funeral & Cremation Center, 12420 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City. Funeral mass will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, Dec. 18, 2017 at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, 9728 W. Palmeras Dr., Sun City, AZ. Interment to follow at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona.