Velma J. Bugbee, 72, of Rockford, Ill., passed away Wednesday, July 21, 2011, at Wesley Willows in Illinois.
She was born May 22, 1939, to Dariel and Delphia “Avrella” (Bugbee) Winchel in what is now Wildcat Mountain State Park. Her father’s dairy farm was located in back of where the ranger’s house is now. Velma went to O’Connels one-room schoolhouse for eight years, and then attended and graduated from Ontario High School in 1957. On Oct. 25, 1974, Velma and Joseph Bugbee, who had grown up in La Farge, were married in Waupon, Iowa. She was a resident of Rockford for 37 years, prior to which she had lived in Wisconsin .
Velma enjoyed embroidery work, whether it was dish towels or baby quilts. Active in the Jehovah Witness community, she as a member of the South Rockford Kingdom Hall.
Velma is survived by her husband, Joseph Bugbee; her brothers, David Winchel and Rainey (Karen) Winchel; and her sisters, Alice Delap, Sherry Tracy, Sharon Scholze, Mary Peter and Cindy Ebert.
She was preceded in death by her parents and eight brothers and sisters.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, at the Torkelson Funeral Home in Ontario. Family and friends are invited for visitation from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial will follow in the Mount Tabor Cemetery, Mount Tabor, Wis.
Online condolences may be made at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.
