Wilma J. Zuercher

                                            In Memory of Wilma (Harms) Zuercher
                                               August 31, 1931-February 17, 2020

Wilma (Harms) Zuercher was born August 31, 1931, at Bessie, Oklahoma, the second child of Arthur and Martha Harms.  Rural life was the scene of her childhood which was mostly on a farm in western Oklahoma near the town of Cordell.  Together with her family, her main community was her large family of relatives who were firmly committed to Christ and the local rural church.  This church as comprised of second and third generation people of Dutch extraction who had sojourned for many years in Eastern Europe for purposes of religious freedom.  Because of this Wilma’s early years found her conversing in two dialects of German.

At age eleven, Wilma came to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ whom she received and followed sincerely these many years.  A fortifying influence in her Christian life was the campus life of Oklahoma Bible Academy, a Christian high school in western Oklahoma.  After graduation she continued her education at Grace Bible Institute in Omaha, Nebraska.  She received her diploma in Christian Education and honed her gift and talent as a Bible teacher.  In the fall of 1952 Wilma enrolled in Bob Jones University in South Carolina, and there she began to develop a friendship with a fellow student, Dwight Zuercher. 

On July 17, 1953 Wilma’s home church rang with a church full of festive relatives and church members wishing them God’s blessing on their marriage.  After a brief honeymoon, the new couple made their home in a little apartment in Atlanta, Kansas, where Dwight served the Atlanta Bible Church as pastor.  During this time Wilma finished her BS in English and Business at Southwestern College. Upon completing her college work, Wilma took a teaching position at her Alma Mater, the Oklahoma Bible Academy.  A pastorate opened up nearby and Dwight became the pastor of the church at Hillsdale, Oklahoma.  Soon Wilma was in the classroom again teaching business courses part-time in the local high school.  Things changed in the parsonage at Hillsdale when in March 1957 their daughter Joan was born. After two years at Hillsdale, the little family moved to Fort Worth to become students at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Besides teaching public school, Wilma earned her Masters of Religious Education from the seminary. In 1963, after finishing seminary work, Dwight became pastor of First Baptist Church, Casey, Illinois.  Among the blessings experienced there was the birth of their son Brent in December of 1964.  While Dwight served as pastor to a new church plant in Muncie, Indiana, Wilma took time to earn her MA in English at Ball State University. After they moved to Crystal Lake, Illinois, to pastor the First Baptist Church, Wilma began working in Human Resources in local industry.

During retirement, Wilma enjoyed leading special women’s Bible studies and women’s Sunday school at the First Baptist Church, Machesney Park, Illinois, where she was a member for nearly twenty-five years.  Wilma was a good student and gifted teacher. Also during that time Dwight and Wilma spent several years in family genealogical research which included foreign travel after which they typed, printed, and distributed the family histories.

Slowly declining health gradually diminished Wilma’s ability to get out and cultivate the friendships she had enjoyed.  Wilma was welcomed into the direct presence of her Savior on February 17, 2020. She is survived by her husband of sixty-sixty years, Dwight; her daughter, Joan White; her son Brent (Diane); and her sister, Virgie (Russ) Mueller. Her grandchildren are Ryan D. White, with great-granddaughter, Angevin; Charla (Steve) Sindelar, with great-granddaughters, Stella and Lilliana; Christina (Matthew) Gill with great-granddaughters, Molly and Jamie; Cynthia (Kyle) McVey; Brandon (Meredith) Zuercher; Nathan Zuercher; and Alyssa Zuercher.  Predeceasing Wilma were her parents, two brothers, one sister, and her son-in-law, Chuck White.

Funeral service at 10:00am with a visitation from 9:00am until the service on Saturday, February 22, 2020 in First Baptist Church, 718 Harlem Road, Machesney Park, IL 61115.  Burial in Lakewood Memorial Park, Elgin, IL.

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