Barbara Wegner

Barbara “Barb” Ellen (Zimmerman) Wegner, 83, of Mandan, North Dakota, passed away peacefully on July 26, 2025, following a courageous battle with Polycythemia Vera, a rare bone marrow disease. Barb’s life was a testament to kindness, creativity, and deep devotion to God, her family and her community. 

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, August 1 at First Lutheran Church in Mandan with Rev. Phil Leer officiating. Burial will follow at the North Dakota Veteran’s Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5-6:30 PM with a Prayer Service at 6:30 on Thursday, July 31, at Buehler-Larson Funeral Home in Mandan. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service on Friday.

Born on September 10, 1941, on the Zimmerman farmstead outside Elgin, Barb was the beloved daughter of Otto and Beata Zimmerman. From an early age, music was a thread weaving through her life. She shared childhood days singing and playing guitar while her sister Jan played piano, sparking a lifelong passion for music. After attending the local country school, Barb took her first job at Horst Super Valu in Glen Ullin. Jan, her sister, joined her two years later. There are many stories of their time spent working, babysitting, and dancing away to the music of “Rocky and His Happy Valley Gang”. Ready for a new adventure, she then moved to Bismarck to work for that Super Valu, an experience that led to many additional lifelong friendships. 

One fateful night at the Jolly George changed her life when she met her future husband, Melvin Wegner, through mutual friends. The two married on November 9, 1968, in Bismarck and began their lives together in Devils Lake before moving to Grand Forks, where she started her career in Tupperware sales and they welcomed their children Penny and Barry. Four years later, they settled in Bismarck and completed their family with the birth of Paige, before moving to Elgin. There Barb opened her heart and home as an extraordinary daycare provider. Through decades of caring for neighborhood children—many of whom remain close to the family—Barb earned a reputation for her patience, warmth, and her homemade caramel rolls. She cherished her bond with each child she cared for in Elgin throughout her life. 

Barb was a woman of many talents and passions. She became an award-winning photographer, with work featured in the “National Enquirer” and displayed at Disney’s Epcot Center. She poured her creative energy into crafting pine wreaths, decorative photo albums, and delightful baked goods. Barb was also active in her church and community, serving as Sunday School Superintendent, Lioness member, and Jacobson Memorial Hospital Auxiliary member (resulting in the cherished “Hospital cookbook” that her children and grandchildren will continue to utilize with pride). 

In 1993, Mel and Barb made their home in Bismarck/Mandan area. She worked at McDonald’s and Scheels before her well-earned retirement. Above all, Barb cherished her family, finding her greatest joy in becoming a grandmother. Caring for her grandchildren and daycare children brought purpose and happiness to every day. A testament to her love of her family, Barb prayers included the hope to meet her first great grandchild, Baker Aman, who was born April 29, 2025 – a wish fulfilled. 

Barb is survived by her devoted husband, Melvin; her daughters Penny (Alan) Zola and Paige Wegner; her son Barry (Jenn) Wegner; her sisters Janice (Dennis) Benson, Peggy (Delmar) Hauck, and Audrey Bentz; her sister-in-law Bernice Clark Meyer; and her treasured grandchildren Mekenzie (Devon) Aman, Max Zola, Abigail Zola, Alex Wegner (Mia), Grant Zola, and Ana Wegner. She is also survived by her great grandson, Baker Aman.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Otto and Beata Zimmerman, her parents-in-law Emanuel and Pauline Wegner, and brother Melvin Zimmerman, her sister-in-law Loretta Quanbeck; her brothers-in-law Marvin Bentz, Sherman Quanbeck, Jack Clark, and Dennis Meyer; and her nephew Dean Clark. 

Barb brought laughter, care, and creativity into every life she touched. We will miss Mom dearly, but we know she is now living pain-free and dancing once again to her favorite polka.

Memorials are preferred to First Lutheran Church in Mandan.