Obituaries: Margaret Kirkpatrick Wetzel

Margaret Wetzel

Alexander Valley Vineyards Winery owner Margaret "Maggie" Cranford Kirkpatrick Wetzel, 83, died Thursday at her home.

Wetzel, known for her charming nature and love of making things grow, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

In 1962, she and her husband, Harry Wetzel, and friends Russ and B.J. Green bought the 1842 homestead of Cyrus Alexan-der, for whom the valley is named.

The couples were among the first to plant grapes in the valley. While living in the Los Angeles area, the Wetzels frequently came north to the property and lovingly restored the old Victorian home and Alexander Valley schoolhouse.

In 1975, they began constructing their winery, which is now run by their son, Hank Wetzel.

Harry and Maggie Wetzel have given generously to the arts and civic institutions, including a recent $2 million gift to Healdsburg Hospital for the Wetzel Family Emergency Department.

"It was natural for her to give, particularly to things that would be a full benefit to everyone who lived here, not just that would go to a few," said her daughter Katie Wetzel Murphy. "It was intrinsic to her nature to be very generous."

Maggie Wetzel was born in Hampton, Va. She met Harry Wetzel Jr., at an officers' club dance in Pennsylvania. The two were married 62 years at the time of her death.

They eventually settled in Palos Verdes Estates, where they raised their four children and where Harry Wetzel served as president and CEO of the Garrett Corp.

When their children were grown, Maggie Wetzel returned to college and earned a bachelor's degree in art history from the University of Southern California.

She became active in art, music and opera, serving on boards such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and later the board of the San Francisco Opera.

Eventually the couple began looking north for a weekend and summer retreat. They chose the Alexander Valley and the old Alexander homestead, which included a crumbling Victorian home.

When they learned of the home's historic significance, they rebuilt it, doing much of the work themselves and maintaining the integrity of the era, said Sarah Fallon, Wetzel's granddaughter.

"She became really fascinated with the history of the area. She really wanted to give something back. It was very much a labor or love for her," said Fallon, of San Francisco.

In the early 1970s, the couple put their efforts into moving the Alexander Valley schoolhouse about a half mile to their property. The old school became a guest house.

The couple began living in Alexander Valley full time in about 1975.

Wetzel was extremely charming, a part of her southern upbringing, her granddaughter said.

And while Maggie Wetzel enjoyed opera and art, she also didn't hesitate to dig into the dirt of her garden to weed or take her visiting grandchildren to the nearby river and teach them to build mud castles and catch tadpoles, Fallon said.

Wetzel once wrote, "There are loads of people who love to be on committees and in clubs, who thrive on going to board meetings. But what I love most is seeing things grow."

And in keeping with that, Maggie Wetzel helped cultivate the family winery and created gardens including an extensive vegetable garden on the property.

Fallon called her grandmother a force of nature.

"She was an amazing person. She knew how to make everything around her really beautiful," she said.

Over the years, the couple also donated to the Healdsburg Museum, the Santa Rosa Symphony and the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University.

She was a member of St. Paul Episcopal Church in Healdsburg.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughters, Sally Fallon-Morell of Washington D.C. and Katie Wetzel Murphy of Healdsburg; sons, Hank Wetzel, of Healdsburg and John Wetzel of Santa Rosa; sister Sue Rogers of Virginia; brother Pete Kirkpatrick of Columbus, Ohio; 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Wetzel's garden at Alexander Valley Vineyards in Healdsburg.

-- Randi Rossmann

Thelma Keane,

inspired 'Family

Circus' mother

PHOENIX -- Thelma Keane, the inspiration for the Mommy character in the long-running "Family Circus" comic created by her husband, Bil Keane, died Friday of Alzheimer's disease, the family said. She was 82.

"Family Circus," which Keane began drawing in 1960, depicts the good-humored life of two parents and their four children. It is now featured in about 1,500 newspapers.

"She was the inspiration for all of my success," Bil Keane, 85, said from his home in Paradise Valley, Ariz., on Sunday.

"When the cartoon first appeared, she looked so much like Mommy that if she was in the supermarket pushing her cart around, people would come up to her and say, 'Aren't you the Mommy in "Family Circus?" ' and she would admit it."

Bil and Thelma "Thel" Keane met during World War II in the war bond office in Brisbane, Australia. She was a native Australian working as an accounting secretary, and Bil worked next to her as a promotional artist for the U.S. Army.

"I had this desk alongside the most beautiful Australian 18-year-old girl with long brown hair," Bil Keane said. "And I got up enough nerve to ask her for a date."

The two married in 1948 and moved to Bil Keane's hometown of Philadelphia. They had five children and moved to the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley in 1958.

Not only was Thelma Keane the inspiration for the always-loving and ever-patient comic character also named Thel, but she worked full-time as her husband's business and financial manager. Her family says she was the reason Bil Keane became one of the first syndicated newspaper cartoonists to win back all rights to his comic.

Thelma Keane's Alzheimer's disease was diagnosed about five years ago, and she had been at an assisted-living center near the family home for the last three years, said her daughter, Gayle Keane, 58, of Napa.

Bil Keane continues to produce "Family Circus" with the help of his youngest son, Jeff. Bill Keane sketches out the ideas, characters and captions and sends them to Jeff for inking.

-- Associated Press