Marti Wilber

Marti's Tribute Video and Service Folder can be found following her obituary.

as written by Marti:

Marti Jo (Valek) Wilber met her Heavenly Father on September 2, 2020, at the age of 47 years, 11 months, 18 days.  She was born September 15, 1972, to Eddie and Marcella (Bouley) Valek.   She grew up near Wayne, KS, the youngest of 7 kids (one, Jerry, died at birth).  She enjoyed everything about her childhood, working hard alongside her siblings & parents, fishing, hunting, caring for all the critters, cattle shows, harvest, putting bales in the barn by hand (except when Bill chased me with a snake in the hayloft – Bad, Bad Bill!), watching the sunrise and the sunset.  She loved the family God put her in with all her heart.

She graduated from Hillcrest in 1991, Cloud County in 1993 (where she participated in Basketball and Track), and also attended K-State for a year (where she worked at Nelson’s Hatchery where she vaccinated thousands of baby chicks daily).  In May 1995, she started working at Hillcrest and continued to work for the school system even after consolidation occurred.  She continued to work for USD 109 until fighting cancer became her full time job.

Marti married Dan Wilber in September 1995.  His playful spirit, ability to fix whatever she broke, and God’s blessing was the glue that bonded them in marriage.  They had two children, Cameron and Tobi.  It was at this point that Marti relinquished her place on the tractor seat and began grooming her mothering abilities.  I have to admit, I never saw myself being a mother, but oh how God blessed me with two bundles of joy!

She still loved the outdoors, and the kids would always be found alongside her in whatever outside activity was happening.  When the kids were in trouble, they didn’t have a naughty chair – they would have to do laps around the house.  So, yes, you can thank me for being such good runners in H.S. and college.

As the kids grew older, the activities multiplied.  If they participated in it, she made a point to attend every activity she could!  Of course she missed some due to cancer & West Nile meningitis, but neighbors and friends would always send pictures and videos so she could feel a part of the event.

God, kids, family, cattle, dogs and goats were her passion.  She was sprinkled as a child, but baptized by submersion when she was 31.  She was an active member of the Central Christian Church, Merry Meadowlarks 4-H Club, and the Kansas Hereford family.

She held such jobs as vaccinating chickens at Nelson Hatchery, scale operator at Cloud County Co-Op, tax prep for FMSI, Hillcrest USD 455 secretary/para/bus driver, and Republic County USD 109 secretary/para/bus driver.  Her love for children never ceased.

Marti is preceded in death by her parents, Eddie and Marcella, brothers Jerry and Randy Valek, nephew Jacob Valek, and brother-in-law, James Wilber.

She will be forever remembered by her husband Dan, son Cameron, and daughter Tobi of Belleville. Marti is also survived by her sisters Janis Krob (John) of Cuba, and Nancy Erickson (Glenn) of Maysville, MO; brothers Mick Valek (Donna) of Wayne, and Bill Valek (Resi) of Wayne; sister-in-laws, Becky Lewis (Craig) of Wichita, Charlotte Sullivan (Blake) of Wichita, Susan Thomas (Zach) of Lawrence, KS; her father and mother in law, Charles and Ruth Wilber of Belleville, numerous nieces and nephews, and a host of friends.

Visitation will be held on Friday, September 4, 2020, from 9:00 am – 9:00 pm, at Tibbetts-Fischer Funeral Home in Belleville, where the family will greet friends from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, September 5, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., at the Central Christian Church in Belleville, with Pastor Jacob Rice and Pastor Mark Imel officiating. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Cemetery, rural Wayne.

Memorials are requested to the Family’s Choice to be designated at a later date, and may be sent in care of the funeral home.

Tibbetts-Fischer Funeral Home of Belleville assisted the Wilber family with these arrangements, www.tibbettsfischerfuneralhome.com