Camelia Wetzel

STERLING- Camelia "Mimi" Hopkins Wetzel, 83, after a lifetime spent caring for others, this Angel on earth was called home to join the other Angels of the Lord in heaven on April 25, 2009. Camelia was born April 12, 1926, in Resaca, Georgia, the daughter of Horace C. Hopkins and B. Ruth Carter Hopkins Scott. As a youth Cam worked in the family cotton fields, so that she could attend school. She graduated from Valley Point High School, in Dalton Georgia in 1944. Cam then went on to attend the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga where she graduated from the Erlanger School of Nursing in 1948. After obtaining her nursing degree, she spent 5 years working as a burn care specialist at Brook Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Camelia then worked for 30 years at Northwestern Steel and Wire Company in Sterling, IL retiring as the chief nurse in 1984. Cam was not finished with her life of service, she went on to spend the next 22 years as Nurse Supervisor for the Illinois Department on Aging, retiring in 2008. For all of Cam's dedication to healthcare in her community, Mimi's first priority was always the care and nurturing of her family. She will always be loved and deeply missed by her Daughter and Son-In-Law, Cindy and Dan Bragg of Sterling, IL, and the pride and joys of her life, her grand-daughters, Ashleigh Bragg, Tara Bragg and Savannah Bragg, all of Sterling. Also mourning Cam's passing are a niece, Mrs. Randy (Theresa) Stewart of Sterling, a nephew, Gary L. Hopkins of Sterling, Aunts Lina Price, Louise Carter and Alma Carter all of Dalton Georgia, 3 cousins Ramona Peterson of Sterling, IL Mrs. Glenn "Patsy" Jennings and Barbara Morton both of Dalton, GA, a special friend Alice Newton of Sterling, IL as well as a multitude of those whose lives she touched. Camelia was married to the late Harold L. Wetzel in 1956 until his death in 1991. She was also preceded in death by her mother and father, as well a sister Bonnie Hopkins Clark, and a brother Horace C. "Hoppy" Hopkins. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at St. John's Lutheran Church, with the Reverend Mark Oehlert, pastor, officiating. Burial will be at Riverside Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5-7 PM Tuesday at the Schilling Funeral Home, Sterling. Cam was a long-time, faithful member of St. John's Church in Sterling. It was her request that in lieu of flowers memorial gifts be made to St. John's Church and the Hospice of The Rock River Valley.