Dolores "Dolly" Neumueller Nielsen's Obituary
My name is Dolores Ann Washnieski Sitzberger Neumueller Nielsen but you may call me “Dolly”. I died on June 22, 2026, at the age of 89.
I was born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1937 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You would think that my parents would want to name me “Patricia” or another Irish name but no, some members of the family did not think you could put “Patricia” with “Sitzberger”. So, it was decided that my name would be Dolores, which means “pain and sorrow”. I was the oldest child of 6 to Margaret and John Sitzberger. I had 4 brothers: Paul (deceased), Ralph (Jean(deceased)), Donald (deceased) and John (deceased)(Carol (deceased)). Finally after 4 brothers, my sister Fran (Gary Weber (deceased)) arrived.
Around 1946, Dad decided he wanted to start a glass business and so we moved to Oshkosh to make that happen. I started my 4th grade in Oshkosh at St. Vincent de Paul school which at that time was taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. I graduated from Oshkosh High School in 1955. I then attended UW-Oshkosh for only one year but did not continue at that time. I went to work for Teela-Zentner as a secretary. At the same time, I answered the telephone for the Weights and Measures office that was just across the hall. I next worked in the Classified Advertising Department for the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern. This was a job which I did not like at all. Unknown to most, I did some modeling and runway work for Queen Bee Fashions.
I met my first husband Gerald “Jerry” Neumueller when I was 21. We married on September 19, 1959, at St. Vincent de Paul church (SVDP). We had 6 children. Michael John who was born in 1960 but died just 6 months later, Peggy (Roger Gravrok), John (Becky), Robert (deceased)(Diana), Patti (Don Peppler), and Carol (Mike Pfeilstifter). I have 15 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.
I was a stay-at-home mom but also did a lot of volunteer work for SVDP and at the various schools our children attended. At SVDP, I was the Sacristan and taught CCD, a marriage prep class, and the new adult and child altar servers. I volunteered at Smith School and then was the librarian at SVDP for 8 years. I worked at the Ecumenical Campus Ministry at UW-Oshkosh for 5 1/2 years. I then became the librarian at Lourdes Academy and remained there for about 16 years. When I was 52 years old, I went back to college at UW-O and graduated in 1992 with a Liberal Arts degree.
I caught the travel bug at the age of 42 when I went on my first trip abroad to the Holy Land. Leaving the 5 children home with Jerry for 4 ½ weeks, I traveled with a group of adults and students from UWO and traveled to Israel. Since then I have traveled to 6 continents and 48 countries. I had no desire to travel to Antarctica as it is too cold and only has penguins. I will miss Carol Procknow, one of my travel companions and trip planning guru.
After 48 years of marriage, Jerry died in 2007. After his death, friends and family told me to get out and get involved and so I started attending fitness classes at the YMCA. It was a lifesaver after Jerry died. It was there that I met my second husband Ralph. We married in 2011. Together our family grew to 9 children to include Ralph’s 4 children: Beth (Russ Hildebrand), Terri ( EJ Lord), Tricia (Terry Mulholland), Mark (Siegried). Ralph and I shared a love of travel, traveling often throughout our marriage.
I had continued to volunteer in many capacities throughout my life. I was President of the Catholic Library Association Wisconsin Chapter. I have volunteered for the Special Education Religion Voice (SERV) for over 35 years, serving as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors. I volunteered weekly at St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. I was a member of the Red Hat Society and various Book Clubs at the Oshkosh Public Library. I sang with the Huff & Puff singing group. I also brought Communion to the homebound. I met many beautiful people who told me wonderful stories and showed me how to be happy and live with joy.
Although most people who knew me would find it hard to believe that I can keep quiet for 5 minutes let alone 8 days, I often went on 8 day silent retreats at the Jesuit Retreat House to recharge.
When my children were small, I never got to weed the one small garden on the south side of my house. I eventually tended more than 15 gardens of my own and loved it. I enjoyed going to cemeteries for the quiet and to meet up with many of my old friends as I attended and added a little color by way of flowers to their graves.
I had a yearly rummage sale for 40 years and when that was done, continued to rummage every Saturday with family and friends. Nothing was more important than Saturday morning rummaging. Many of us loaded up in my van to begin the morning with a stop at Kwik Trip for a coffee and donut.
I loved to bike ride with my great friend Betty Price, and will miss my lunch ladies: Lynda, Sue, Bonnie, Nancy, Kathy, and Donna.
I have been blessed with the love and friendship of some wonderful people over the years, without whom I would not have been able to accomplish all that I have. They are Sr. Marie Estelle, Fr. Bob Sladek, Norm Wegener, and Bob Thompson.
Dolly often said she only wanted flowers when she was alive, so in lieu of flowers to her, please give flowers to someone special in your life.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for Dolly on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at 11:00 AM at St. Jude the Apostle Parish (St. Vincent site) in Oshkosh. Visitation will begin at 9:00 AM with the funeral Mass at 11:00 AM. A luncheon will follow.
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