Lou Woellner

Lou Woellner died on August 6, 2026, at Ohio Living-Swan Creek in Toledo, Ohio, of natural causes, just five days shy of her 96th birthday. She was born on August 11, 1930 to Bernard Lee and Willa Mae (Stephens) Tinsley in Logan, West Virginia. She loved to visit the company store that her father managed for a coal company and adored wearing the clothes and costumes made by her mother, who was an excellent seamstress.

Lou set her sights beyond Logan, heading to the University of Virginia School of Nursing in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her best friend from childhood, Nancy Jean Murphy. Living up to her motto, "Good things come in small packages," she earned her nursing degree in 1951. She loved her profession, particularly the exacting standards of surgical nursing, and worked at the University of Virginia Hospital until February of 1952, when she married Richard (Dick) Hegamaster. He was also a UVA graduate and a native of Toledo, where they moved so that he could begin work at the family-owned Ohio & Michigan Paper Company and Lou could serve as a nurse with the Toledo Clinic.

Lou and Dick's children were born in precise three-year increments: Kendal in 1953, Kelley in 1956, and Stephen in 1959. Moving with her young family to Sylvania in 1962, Lou was a Sunday School Superintendent, Youth Fellowship Leader, and Elder at Christ Presbyterian Church. When Dick died suddenly in 1969, Lou returned to nursing at the (then) Lake Park Hospital and (then) Brookhaven Convalescent Center and later as a public health nurse with Lucas County.

In 1978 she married former neighbor and dear friend John V. Woellner, who had lost his first wife Anne in 1976. Lou and John cared for her son Steve at home, with compassion and love, before his death in 1991 of AIDS.

Lou and John enjoyed nearly 43 years of marriage, volunteering in many roles at Trinity Episcopal Church, traveling to their condo in Sarasota, Florida, and to points around the world, visiting their far-flung family, and golfing. Lou became a late bloomer in golf, making a hole-in-one at Highland Meadows. She was a terrific cook and made wonderful blueberry pies and potato salad whenever her kids came for a visit. Lou delighted in her own birthday, and her daughters organized several all-family events in various locations to celebrate her special day over the years. After John's death at 94 in 2021, Lou moved to Swan Creek, leaving her much-loved homes in Sylvania and Sarasota.

In addition to her husbands and son, Lou was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Betty Lee Black and Billie Jo Cyfers, and niece Tracy Hegamaster Bieser. She is survived her daughters Kendal (Ken) Gladish and Kelley Bowen, of Austin, TX; AFS daughter Sukonta (CN) Nitibohn; stepson John Jr. of Scottsdale, AZ, and stepdaughters Dianne Krupp (Steve) of Sarasota, FL, and Kathryn (Katy) Vander Molen of Madison, WI; grandchildren Ellen Gladish (Gerard Barreto) of Chicago, Donald Gladish of Austin, Richard Bowen (Tiffany Froy) and Stephen Bowen (Erin Kushino) of Chicago, Kristen (Matt) Witwer of Tipp City, Ohio, and John (Miranda) Vander Molen of Waukanee, WI; six great-grandchildren; and nieces Leslie Hegamaster, Sidney Bieser, Dee Cyfers, and Jamie Trent. She is also survived by dear friends and faithful visitors Becky Roth and Jean Crisp and also her cherished former neighbors Beau Rochte and Mary and Greg Leugers.

Lou's family extends its heartfelt thanks to the nurses, aides, and staff of Swan Creek Assisted Living, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing, and Hospice for their tender and loving care for her in recent years. Lou's daughters were particularly moved by the number of staff members who paid tribute to Lou after her death.

Lou will be interred at the Sylvania Association Cemetery on Convent Boulevard in Sylvania, next to her son Steve Hegamaster. Family and friends may visit Wednesday, August 12, 2026, from 10-11 am at Walker Funeral Home, 5155 W. Sylvania Ave. A memorial service will follow at 11 am in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be sent to the Ohio Living Foundation, 9200 Worthington Road, Westerville, OH 43082, or Trinity Episcopal Church, 316 Adams St, Toledo, Ohio 43604, or a charity of the donor's choosing.