Mathilda Ripp

Mathilda Agnes Ripp, 103, died at the Waunakee Manor on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.  God answered her prayers as she went to Him peacefully in her sleep.  Mathilda was born on December 3, 1916, to William and Catherine (Faust) Dahmen on the family farm in Cross Plains, WI  She attended St. Francis Xavier School in Cross Plains where she proudly recalled being able to skip 3rd grade and graduated from 8th grade.  Mathilda was united in marriage to Albert Ripp on October 12, 1937, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.  They spent 58 years raising their family in Ashton before his death in 1995.  In the early years, Mom worked at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Ashton where she also sang in the choir and was a member of the Altar Society.  She also did housekeeping for several families while tending to her own family.  She worked long hours with Dad tending their large vegetable and flower gardens.  We have so many great memories of family gatherings with wonderful meals and lots of laughter.  In her later years, she crocheted and knitted baby blankets for St. John’s Church and for each of her grandchildren.  Mom enjoyed playing cards and doing puzzles.

Mathilda is survived by her two sons, Jim (Joanne), Oregon and Dave (Eunie), Wautoma; and her five daughters, Cathy (Bob) Niesen, Waunakee, Betty (Jerry) Treinen, DeForest, Agnes (Harold) Schlimgen, Mt. Horeb, Vera Statz, Waunakee, and Mary (Ken) Breunig, Dane.  She is further survived by 33 grandchildren, 77 great-grandchildren, and 16 great-great-grandchildren.  Those that went before her, besides her husband and parents, are an infant daughter, Laura Mae; an infant granddaughter, Lori Ann Niesen; and her son-in-law, Marvin Statz.  She was also preceded in death by her brothers, Joseph  (Cyrilla) Dahmen, William and Jerome Dahmen; her sisters, Sister Catherine Ann Dahmen, Hildegard (Reynold) Boehnen, Marcella (Peter) Ripp, and Rosemary (Gene) Garfoot, and her brother-in-law, Peter Hellenbrand.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a private mass was held on April 1 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Waunakee, with a private burial at St. Peter’s Catholic Cemetery in Ashton.  A public memorial mass and reception will be held at a later time.  The family wishes to thank Monsignor James Gunn for his Spiritual guidance and visits, the Waunakee Manor and their staff who gave Mom such loving care, and Harvey Winn and the Winn Cress Funeral home for helping us through a most difficult time.

Thanks, Mom, for your love and guidance.  We love you and will miss you.  Give Dad a hug for us.

Winn-Cress Funeral and Cremation Service

5785 Highway Q

Waunakee, WI 53597

(608)849-4513