WISEMAN, Kathleen
A devoted wife and mother
Kathleen Marjorie Wiseman, known to everyone as Kath was born at the Maryborough District Hospital on 2nd July 1937. She was the youngest of three children born to Donald, a laborer, and Eileen a housewife. Kath had two brothers Archibald and Frank. The family lived in Lexton before moving to Ballarat when Kath was young.
Kath went to school at St Columba's, leaving after completing year eight. After leaving school, Kath worked as a telephonist at the PMG, now known as Telstra. During her life, Kath also managed a kiosk at Lakeside Mental Hospital and was a volunteer for many years doing Meals on Wheels.
Kath met Neil one night whilst he was walking home from the Movie Theatre with his friends. Neil used to drive his old Bedford truck from Learmonth to Ballarat nearly every night to see Kath. At weekends Kath would ride her bike almost all the way to Learmonth and Neil would pick her up.
Kath and Neil eventually married on the 31st January 1959 at St. Alipius Church, Ballarat East. They made their home in Learmonth and eventually moved to Ballarat then Sebastopol. With Neil working in Ballarat every day, he would drop Kath off at her mother's house before going to work. On the first day back at work after they were married, Neil got to the outskirts of Ballarat on his way home and suddenly realised something was missing, he had left Kath at her mother's place. So he turned around and went back to Ballarat to collect her. Kath and Neil celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Park Hotel in January 2009 and it was celebrated with family and friends.
The family soon grew with the birth of four daughters. She was on various school committees, being the Treasurer of St. James Primary School, and helped cater for the school. Kath also helped with the tuck shop at Sacred Heart College where her daughters attended school. Eventually, Kath and Neil would have five granddaughters to keep them busy. The girls were heavily involved in Calisthenics which saw Kath helping out with endless amounts of sewing and sequencing. She rarely missed a calisthenic competition or concert that either one of her daughters or granddaughters would be performing in.
Kath loved to watch the Tinies Section at the Royal South Street Competitions. After her death, her daughter Julie and granddaughter Rebecca decided to arrange a trophy in her honor for the section she loved to watch. For the past 2 years, her great-granddaughter Charlotte has been part of the winning team for Jayde Calisthenic Club.
Kath was an amazing cook and was especially known for her sponges.
Kath died peacefully surrounded by her family on the 27th October 2011. She is buried with her beloved husband Neil at the Ballarat New Cemetery Lawn H Row 34 Grave 34.
