Date of death: 8/8/2009
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1954
The Rev. George E. Wuellner, 87.Father Wuellner was born on Oct. 18, 1921, in Alton to Joseph and Marie (Knapp) Wuellner. He attended Catholic grade and high schools in Alton through his junior year, when the family moved to Urbana. He graduated from Urbana High School in 1939 and went on to study industrial design at the University of Illinois. Upon his graduation in 1943, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. His service in the Pacific in World War II, in the invasions of Guam and Iwo Jima, earned him two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.After his discharge from the Navy, he went on to study for the priesthood. He completed his seminary studies at Saint Meinrad Seminary in Indiana and was ordained on June 6, 1954.Throughout his 50 years of service as a priest, Father Wuellner has been involved in many parishes in the area. He was an assistant at St. Bernard’s Parish, Peoria; St. Edward’s, Chillicothe; St. Mary of the Woods, Princeville; Holy Family, Peoria; and Holy Cross, Champaign. He was appointed as assistant pastor of St. Pius X, Rock Island and as administrator of St. Mary’s, Loretto and Sacred Heart, Campus. He was the assistant director of Catholic Social Service and was a part of the South Side Team Ministry serving four parishes on Peoria’s South Side. He served as pastor of Blessed Sacrament, Morton from 1967 to 1972; St. John’s, Peoria from 1972 to 1974; and Our Lady of the Lake, Mahomet from 1981 to 1992. For 10 of those years he was also pastor of St. Boniface Parish in Seymour. In 1992, he was named pastor emeritus of St. Boniface and continued to serve as parish administrator there until 2001.Father Wuellner was an accomplished artist and illustrator; his drawings came from the heart and touched all who knew him. His “Graffiti from Cathedral Walls” comic strip, co-produced by Father Robert Reynolds, appeared regularly in The Catholic Post. In later years, he designed and illustrated Advent and Lenten calendars for his parishioners.He is survived by one sister, Betty Suter of South Bend, Ind.; one sister-in-law, Terry Wuellner of Decatur; 31 nieces and nephews; and a host of great-nieces and -nephews.He was preceded in death by his brothers, Father Frank Wuellner, William Wuellner, Joseph Wuellner and Charles Wuellner; two sisters-in-law, Helen Wuellner and Ollie Wuellner; one brother-in-law, Frank Suter; and one niece, Barbara Jean Wuellner.Memorials may be made to Empty Tomb in Champaign or Catholic Charities of the Peoria Diocese.Condolences may be offered at www.owensfuneralhomes.com.Information obtained from www.thetelegraph.com”