Elizabeth "Liz" Wiss

June 14, 1923 - September 30, 2020

Elizabeth "Liz" Wiss, 97 of Pana, Illinois died Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 11:20 PM at her residence in Pana. Funeral services will be Monday, October 5, 2020 at 11:00 AM at Kennedy & Sons Funeral Home, Pana with Visitation beginning at 10:00 AM, also on Monday, October 5, 2020 at Kennedy & Sons. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Pana Township, Christian County, Illinois. Elizabeth "Liz" Wiss was born Thursday, June 14, 1923 in Pana, Illinois the first child of Arthur and Elizabeth (maiden name Buttgereit) Kronshagen. She was raised in Pana spending her high school summer vacations babysitting the children of the owners of the Lecas Candy Factory. Elizabeth graduated Pana Senior High School with the class of 1940 and was briefly a waitress at Speedy’s Coffee House, Pana. She was a legal secretary for over 30 years to Attorneys Joe P. Longwell, Carl H. Preihs, and John and Joseph Fribley. Elizabeth married John J. Dudra in 1945 at the very end of World War II, and he died October 24, 1965. She married A.J. Wiss II, sole-owner and President of Pana Iron Store Co., Inc., in 1970, and he died October 21, 1984. In 1960, Elizabeth was the nationwide winner out of 75,000 women of the “Typical Homemaker” contest hosted by National Family Opinion of Toledo, Ohio and was awarded a five-day, sight-seeing, and shopping trip to New York City, NY. Elizabeth “Liz” Wiss is survived by Daughters: Donna Maninfior (Gary) of Mattoon; and Crystal Farris of Pana; Son: John Rod Dudra of Taylorville; Step-Daughters: Mary Kay Isaacson of Westchester, Ohio; Janice LaBounty of Springfield, and Linda Dust of Assumption; Step-Son: A. J. "Joe" Wiss III (Sandie) of Pana; Grandsons: Jon Burkhardt, Jr. (April) of Mattoon, Ted Burkhardt of Effingham; Josh Dudra of Taylorville; Terrance “TJ” Farris of Ohlman, and Tyler Farris (fiancée Rachel) of St. Louis; Granddaughters: Jane-Ann Wallace (John) of Tower Hill, Molly Grammas of Henderson, Nevada; and Jessica Augustine of Taylorville; several step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren; six Sisters: Doris Pinkston and Marian Weber, both of Pana; Carol Walden (Homer “Butch”) of Shelbyville; Margaret Sperry (Bob) of Hoffman Estates; Henrietta Marley of Nokomis, and Norma Creamer of Oreana. Elizabeth is preceded in death by her Parents, Husbands, Sister: Thelma Smart; Brother: Art Kronshagen; and Step-Son: Dr. Thomas Wiss.