Loren Wickert

Loren Iford Wickert, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and longtime resident of the Memphis community, passed away peacefully in hospice care at the Schuyler County Nursing Home on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at the age of 92. Born September 14, 1932, to Ralph Roosevelt Wickert and Bertha Lee (Jones) Wickert, Loren's life was a testament to the values of hard work, dedication, and love for his family and his church.

Loren was born and raised on a farm in Plymouth, Illinois, and graduated from Plymouth High School in 1950. He farmed two years with his brother, Marlyn, before enlisting in the U.S. Army in October of 1952. He did his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and was then deployed overseas, stationed in Verdun, France, where he was a project manager for crew and equipment to rebuild roads and bridges that were damaged during World War II. He was honorably discharged in October of 1954.

He then attended college at Western Illinois University in Macomb for two years before transferring to University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He worked two jobs to pay his way through college, working afternoons at a clothing store and evenings and weekends at a full-service gas station.

He graduated in 1958 from U of I with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. He taught agriculture classes for a couple years in high schools in Meredosia and Jacksonville, Illinois, during which time he also completed his master’s degree in education from the University of Illinois. While teaching there, he met and began dating another teacher, Melba Joann Tiemann. They married on May 21, 1960, on her 24th birthday, at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in LaGrange, Missouri. In 1963, their son, Scott, was born, and two years later, looking for a better way to provide for his family, Loren bought an existing insurance agency in Memphis, Missouri. Loren, Jo, and Scott then moved to Missouri and made Memphis their home. Their daughter, Angie, was born in 1970. Loren built his insurance business as an independent agent, adding real estate and a savings and loan along the way. He retired from his business in 1995 but continued as an appliance repairman for his son at Scott’s Home Center until 2010.

You would often see Loren and Jo attending softball, football, basketball, and baseball games for all of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, traveling as far as Alabama, Florida, and Georgia to watch them compete. Loren was also active in his church, St. Paul Lutheran, and enjoyed having coffee with his buddies at Lacey’s.

As we bid farewell to Loren, we celebrate a life well-lived. Through his tremendous work ethic, kindness, and integrity, he left an indelible mark on the hearts of those who loved him.

He is survived by his loving wife of nearly 65 years, Jo Wickert, currently living at The Arbors Memory Care in Kirksville; his son, Scott Wickert of Memphis, his daughter, Angie (Wickert) Dunn and husband, Kris, of Birmingham, AL; his four grandchildren, Matt Wickert and wife, Kara, of Memphis; Kellyn (Wickert) Robinson and husband, Blane, of Unionville; Drew Dunn and fiancé, Riley Bishop, of Rogers, Arkansas, and Brady Dunn of Auburn, Alabama; eight great-grandchildren: Khloe (Stetson Spees), Kabe, Kallen, and Kwyn Hamlin; Myles Wickert; and Sawyer, Rhys, and Beckham Robinson.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Bertha Wickert, brother Marlyn Wickert of Plymouth, IL, and Mariam (Wickert) Munson of Sidney, Nebraska.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully asks that you consider making a donation in Loren’s honor to St. Paul Lutheran Church, 716 N. Clay St., Memphis, MO, 63555.

Funeral services for Loren Wickert, 92, of Memphis will be held Sunday afternoon 3/16, at 2:00 P.M.the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Memphis. Interment will follow in the Memphis Cemetery east of Memphis. Pallbearers will be,Matt Wickert, Brady Dunn, Kabe Hamlin, Drew Dunn, Blane Robinson, and Kallen Hamlin.

Graveside Military Honors will be provided by V.F.W. Members of Post # 4958 of Memphis along with attendants from the Missouri Military Honors Program.

The Wickert family will be having a visitation prior to the funeral service Sunday afternoon to receive friends from 1:00 P.M. until the time of service at 2:00 P.M. for those that would like to attend.

Arrangements were entrusted to the care of the Payne Funeral Chapel in Memphis, MO