Obituaries & Guestbook

Rebecca “Becky” Bartels, 68, of Sheboygan, passed away on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee following a courageous battle with Sezary Syndrome, a rare form of Cutaneous Lymphoma.
Becky was born on November 23, 1953, in Billings, MT to the late Robert and Dorothy (Otness) Bartels. At age 2 the family moved to Bloomington, MN where she grew up attending local schools, and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1971. She went on to earn a degree in special education with emphasis in visual impairment, and a minor in German, from Northern Illinois University in 1975. She taught visually impaired students in the Green Bay Public Schools for 3 years before earning a Masters degree in early childhood education from the University of Washington. She was united in marriage to Jon Weeden from 1978 to 1993. After moving to Sheboygan in 1979, she worked in the Birth to 3 Early Intervention program at Rehabilitation Center of Sheboygan. Following some time off to have and begin raising children, which Becky described as one of her greatest accomplishments, she returned to teaching visually impaired students at Lightfoot School in Sheboygan Falls and for Cooperative Educational Service Agency #7. She finished her career by teaching introductory German and early American history at Sheboygan Falls Middle School. She was a life-long learner, especially enjoying foreign languages. In addition to being fluent in German, she studied Norwegian, Spanish and Portuguese.
On June 30, 2006, following a 13 year romance, Becky married her soul mate and the love of her life, Glenn Zeinemann. They shared a strong passion for music. Becky loved playing the violin, and for 40 years she performed as a member of the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, something she and Glenn did together for 29 of those years. She was a member of First United Lutheran Church where she served on several committees, played violin for services, and was a member of the bell choir. Becky was a world traveler, and in addition to visiting many places throughout the United States, including a number of national parks, she made trips to Norway and Portugal. As a couple, she and Glenn also visited many places in the U.S., including Alaska, and made trips abroad to Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Holland, Italy, Iceland, and Peru. Becky enjoyed gardening and was also an avid reader, actively participating in lively discussions with her “Book Buzzies” book club. She also looked forward to the annual September weekend in Door County with the camping gang. But most of all she cherished the time spent with her family and all of her many wonderful friends. Her greatest pleasure and one of her main pastimes during retirement was the time she spent taking care of her grandsons, whom she adored. They were her joy and what kept her going throughout the last few years. She was kind, interested in others, a good conversationalist, and was great at delivering a joke. She was dearly loved and will be missed by many.
Becky is survived by her husband, Glenn; two sons, Gregory (Stephanie) Weeden, and Christopher (Meghann) Weeden; three grandsons, Dexter, Connor, and Jacob Weeden, all of Sheboygan; a sister, Deborah (Tim Bremicker) Bartels of St. Paul, MN; and a brother, Jeffrey (Cristiana Catarino) Bartels of Palatine, IL. She is further survived by nieces and nephews, Ben Bremicker, Kari Hillesheim, Sara and Andre Bartels, Diego and MariJose Nunez; and the father of her children, Jon Weeden. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a childhood brother, Gregory Bartels.

Due to recent COVID concerns, a private funeral service for Becky will be held on Saturday, January 29, at 3:00 p.m. The service will be live streamed via YouTube channel: First United Lutheran Church – Sheboygan WI, and also via Facebook page: First United Lutheran Church – ELCA. An outdoor, in-person Celebration of Life will be planned for extended family and friends later this year when we can all more safely gather. Please continue to follow Becky’s site on Caring Bridge for updates. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Becky’s name can be made to the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation, Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, the music program at First United Lutheran Church, and Bookworm Gardens.

Becky’s family would like to express their sincere thanks to Dr. Choi and the team at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, and to Dr. Fenske and the Grace Cancer Clinic team, the staff at the Center for Advanced Care, and the staff of Horizon Hospice at Froedtert Hospital, for the excellent care and compassion provided to her.