Mary Esther Batterman

Mary Esther Batterman Diagnosed with terminal leukemia on Tuesday, May 7th, Mary Esther (Wittekind) Batterman was called home to heaven on Saturday, May 11th, at 91 years of age surrounded by her family at home. Born in 1927 to Mildred (Thiele) and Roy W. Wittekind, she grew up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. After meeting Bud Batterman at a church dartball game, their friendship led to marriage in 1950. She was a switchboard operator for the Bell Telephone Company in Chicago, managed a Grebe Bakery in Madison, WI, and was a customer service representative for Wisconsin Bell Telephone for some 30 years before she retired. She and Bud lived in Hillside, IL; La Crosse, WI; Monona, WI; and Cedarburg, WI where they resided for over 50 years, raising their family. Mary was blessed by God with a love for music. He gifted her with a beautiful voice, and she served as a choir director and sang for many weddings, funerals, family gatherings, a variety of choirs and other events all her life, singing in the First Immanuel Lutheran choir for over 50 years. She had a wonderful gift of hospitality and greeted anyone she met with her beautiful smile. Mary adored children and touched many lives by caring for little ones, and was always willing to hold any baby within reach. She is survived by two sisters: Anna Sattler-Schmidt and Laura Techentin; children Barb (Rick) Henry, Roy (Shirley) Batterman and Mary Beth (Ken) Terhaar; grandchildren Travis Wiggins, Adam Matakis, Andy Oppermann, Heidi (Oppermann) Wanta, Peter Smith-Terhaar and Seth Matakis; great-grandchildren: Jake, Nate, Katie, Peyton and Molly. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Elmer C. “Bud” Batterman and daughters Mary Lou and Donna Lee. In lieu of flowers, any gifts of remembrance may be given to the First Immanuel Lutheran Church Choir, Concordia University – Mequon, or Bethesda Lutheran Communities. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 1:00 PM at First Immanuel Lutheran Church, W67 N622 Evergreen Blvd, Cedarburg, WI, 53012. Family will receive friends at the church on Wednesday from 10:30 AM – 12:45 PM. The family wishes to personally thank Dr. Daniel Jablonski for his extraordinary and attentive care of Mary as her physician over the years.