Winifred Anne Tonne

Winifred Tonne was born at home in 1926, the fourth of five children born to Anna and Edward Hohnhaus. She was the only blue-eyed blond in the family, which was a delight to her father. She was baptized into the Christian faith in St. John’s Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, IN as an infant, and finished her journey steadfast in her Christian faith. Winnie grew up both very poor and very rich; Poor in money and rich in faith and love and family. Along with her siblings and cousins, she spent her childhood summers running barefoot at Pretty Lake in Indiana. As soon as Winnie was old enough to stand on a crate at the sink, she was washing pans at her father’s bakery, O’Rear’s Pastry Shop, a business she would one day own and operate. She cried while she washed pans, but there on that crate by the sink, came the roots of her work ethic. When questioned closely, she one time revealed that she had four proposals of marriage. But she waited for our Dad, Kenneth Tonne. They met at a party at her parents’ home and began a courtship that led to a candle-light wedding at St. James Lutheran Church in the Autumn of 1949. After having a miscarriage and receiving the heartbreaking news that they could never have children, they had six: Susan, Keith, Jim, Sandra, David and John. They celebrated 62 years of marriage with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Winnie was smart and perceptive, and a very fast learner and excellent student in school. She thought about being a nurse, but college wasn’t possible for her. She poured her talent and intelligence into being a mother and into her role as an insightful, savvy, and very successful business owner. She and Ken owned O’Rears Pastry Shop in Lafayette, Indiana. Winnie had responsibilities of managing hiring, training, payroll, quality assurance, and human resources. She was a master cake-decorator. Her decorating was pristine with the most delicate rosebuds ever seen. She juggled many roles with energy and high expectations. Her Christian faith endured through the happy times and the heartbreaks. When their son, Jim, died suddenly at the age of 24, Winnie’s and Kenny’s faith in the Christian resurrection was a witness and stronghold for all of their children and others around her. Winnie had a very full life and was very active in her church, and in the lives of her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She and Kenny were charter members of Redeemer Lutheran Church with a small group of families that met to worship in a barber shop until they could build a church. Over the last decade, Winnie has faced with courage many losses as her body aged. When Ken died, she wanted to go with him. She continued to hold strong relationships with each of her children and grandchildren. She was blessed to live near her daughter Sandra, who tenderly cared for her in her last years. But Winnie wanted to go to her heavenly home. On March 1, 2017, she did just that. A family memorial service will be held in Indiana. Winnie’s family thanks the wonderful caregivers at Edgewater.