Arline Helen Wegesin

Arline Helen Wegesin, 103, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 24, 2025, at the Homestead at Towne Center in Van Wert.

Arline was born on February 26, 1922, in the home of her maternal grandparents in Paulding County near the town of Grover Hill. She was the first child of George and Leota (Sutton) Rager, who both preceded her in death. She moved with her parents to Convoy that same year, where her parents opened a bakery.

Arline attended Tully-Convoy School and graduated in 1940. She was proud to have been selected as maid of honor for the Peony Festival Queen of 1940. She married Walter Bricker at Scott Army Airfield, Illinois in 1942. Walter was killed in action over Italy in 1943. After the war, she married Godfrey Rogers in 1946 and together they operated Rogers Bakery in Convoy but closed the business after Godfrey’s untimely death from a stroke in 1976. Arline then married Ralph Wegesin in 1980 and he passed away in 2001.

Arline was a talented gardener, seamstress, knitter, painter, and cake decorator. She loved to travel in her younger years and enjoyed reading. She was a life-long member of the former Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Convoy and was active in local research, sorority, garden, and spinning clubs.

She is survived by her daughters and sons, Carolyn Tyas of Van Wert, Donna (Mel Hochstetler) Holloway of Fort Wayne, Gerald (Beth) Imperial-Rogers of Fort Wayne, and Glenn (Dora) Rogers of Fort Wayne; a brother, William (Cristina) Rager of Los Angeles; grandchildren: Jennifer (David) Daugherty, Jason (Brooke) Tyas, Melissa (Andrew) Hitzemann, Robin Hermann, Aljon Imperial-Rogers, Nathaniel (Kayla) Rogers, Emily (Jeffrey) Kleykamp, Benjamin (Ariel) Baker-Rogers, and 15 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a sister, Marcile (Gould) Weaver, son-in-law, Floyd Tyas, and a granddaughter, Caitlyn Imperial-Rogers.

A memorial service is planned 4:30 p.m. Saturday, September 27, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Van Wert officiated by Rev. William Haggis II. Visitation will be from 3-4 p.m. preceding the service. Arline’s cremains will be interred along side the grave of her husband, Godfrey, at I.O.O.F. Cemetery near Convoy.

Preferred memorials: the Village of Convoy Historical Society or EverHeart Hospice.

Brickner Funeral Home, Van Wert, assisted the family with arrangements.