Mary Alberta Lang Wildman, 92, Enjoyed volunteer work in the Sunset Presbyterian Church Thrift Shop and avid continuation of bowling.
Mary Alberta Lang Wildman was born in Penfield, Ohio, Tuesday September 20, 1910 and, after a very fulfilling and rewarding life, rich in friendships and filled with family love, she died in Oberlin, Ohio, Thursday, July 17, 2003.She was a resident of Kendal at Oberlin for the past four years, where she died in the Stephens Care Center, from natural causes. Alberta was preceded in death by her husband Roy S. Wildman and her parents J. Leroy Lang and Maud Wolf Lang. Other family members preceding Alberta in death include all of her siblings Lucile A. Thomas, Floyd L. Lang, and Harold H. Lang, plus her stepdaughter Valerie L. Terhune, her niece Zillah M. Lang, her nephew James I. Lang and her grand niece Julie A. Lang.
Survivng relatives include nieces Rita I. Lang, Gayle L. Reed and her husband James, and Suetta L. Lang who is the widow of nephew James: nephews Charles L. Lang and his wife Nancy, Robert F. lang and his wife Dawn, Stanley H. Lang and his wife Cindy, and Keith A. Lang and his wife Janet: plus sister-in-law Neva I. Lang and Hazel M. Lang: as well as numerous grandnieces, grandnephews, great-grand nephews, great grandnieces, and great- grandnephews. Alberts is also survived by her stepson Ed Terhune.
After moving to Kendal at Oberlin in 1999, Alberta became an active member of First United Methodist Church in Oberlin, a Heiser Desk Volunteer, and attended weekly Bible study meetings, as well as enjoying various other activties at Kendal.
Quite important to her life-long passions of being a registed nurse and nurse educator, Alberta became a very enthusiastic community service volunteer who always enjoyed working with undergraduate students from Oberlin College plus nursing and allied health students from Lorain County Community College, right up until her final days.
Previous to moving into Kendal at Oberlin four years ago, Alberta lived in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida from 1960 until 1999. Alberta was an active member of the Ft. Lauderdale, Sunset Presbyterian Church, where she also served as a deacon. She continued working part-time and volunteering as an RN, at local nursing homes.
Other Florida activities included volunteer work in the Sunset Presbyterian Church Thrift Shop and avid continuation of her bowling. Prior to moving to Florida, Alberta married Roy S. Wildman at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, on May 15,1954. They remained happily married until Roy's death in 1986.
Alberta's education started with her graduation from LaGrange High School in 1928. She went on to earn an RN diploma, awarded with high honors for being first in her class, from Cleveland's Lakewood Hospital in 1932. After a decade of clinical nursing in Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit, she returned to school and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Education, awarded by the University of Pittsburgh, School of Nursing, in 1943.
She served two years as a student assistant instructor of obstetrics for her own Pitt. Classmates, a very unique honor for which she received special commendations. Alberta also developed a Mother Teaching Program, for pregnant women and new mothers, while at Pitt. After her graduation, she became and instructor of Obstetric Nursing, on the faculty at Pitt. From there, she left to become the Director of Nursing at Galesburg Cottage
Hospital in Galesburg, Illinois, where Alberta also taught and worked with student nurses. Building on her previous work experience in Veterans Administration Hospital in Clevealnd and Pittsburgh, in 1948, Alberta accepted a position as the Assistant Chief and Director of Nursing Education at the Dayton Veterans Administration Hospital, one of the largest of the 172 VA hospitals across the country. From 1948 until her retirment in 1959, Alberta found her professional work at the VA to be the most varied, interesting, and satisfying of her entire career because of multiple opportunities to be active in patent care, patient care standards boards, nursing education, professional nursing standards boards, various community services, and
several professional association. During that same period, she also enjoyed leadership roles in the Ohio State Nurses Association, the West Ohio League of Nursing, and the Dayton Business and Professional Women's Club.
No visitation will be observed. Memorial services will be held a Kendal at Oberlin, 2:30 p.m. Friday, July, 2003. Prior to the memorial service, there will be a private, family graveside ceremony to inter Alberta's cremated ashes at Penfield Cemetery. Family suggest in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to either the Staff Education Fund, c/o Kendal at Oberlin, 600 Kendal Drive, Oberlin, Ohio 44074 or the Christian Education Fund, c/o First united Methodist Church, 45 South Professor St., Oberlin, Ohio 44074.Blackburn Funeral Home 1021 Main St. Grafton is in charge of handling local arrangements.