Virginia Benton Weiler, 86, of Claremont, passed away on Thursday, January 26, 2012, at Willow Manor in Vincennes, Ind.  A Mass of Christian Burial at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Olney, with Rev. Father Jerry Wirth officiating. Burial in St. Joseph Cemetery in Olney.

Mrs. Weiler was born on April 11, 1925, in Richland County, the daughter of Charles Landis and Esther Ruth (Hoel) Benton.

She married Byron Weiler on April 23, 1946. He preceded her in death on August 21, 2007.

She and Byron were lifetime farmers, with Virginia also being a skilled bookkeeper for the farm and other establishments. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Olney. She was a Charter Member of Home Bureau, which later became Richland County HEA. In that group, she served as officer on the county level, as well as being an officer and active member in the Pleasant Grove Unit of HEA. She also served on the Richland County Extension Board and was secretary of the Richland County Extension Building Association. She was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of Columbus. In 1982, she received the WVLN Community Service Award. She loved and was greatly loved in return by her family. She enjoyed cooking, being a homemaker, and doing whatever was needed for her family and community in her quiet but very capable way. In the words of our friends, she was a “lady.”

Mrs. Weiler is survived by her daughters, Julie (Emery) Oesch of Noble, and Janet Jones of Olney; sons, Ben (Lisa) Weiler, and Bill (Debbie) Weiler, both of Claremont; sisters, Jean (Kenneth) Schrey and Charlene Diel of Olney; sister-in-law, Jane Benton of Olney; grandchildren, Milton (Marcy) Oesch of Calhoun, Anthony (Melissa) Oesch of Olney, Clayton Oesch of Noble, Christopher Oesch of Buffalo, N.Y., Kathy (Wain) Davis, and Kali Jones of Olney, Serena Jones of Evansville, Ind., Megan (Patrick) Connelly of St. Louis, Michelle Weiler of Olney, Erin (Travis) Michels of Urbana, and Derek (Michelle) Weiler of Lawrenceville; great-grandchildren, Vanessa Phillips, Alexander and Jack Byron Davis, Emery and Caroline Oesch, and August and Gentry Michels; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Byron; sister and brother-in-law, Jane and Bruce Bailey; brother, Robert Benton; brother-in-law, Gerald Diel; and son-in-law, Kendal Jones.

Published in Olney Daily Mail (IL)