Darlene Jane Wiens

Darlene Jane Wiens 92, passed away peacefully on Wednesday September 10, 2025 in Topeka, KS.

Darlene Siemens was born on February 02, 1933 in Hutchinson, KS, the daughter of Art F. Siemens and Minnie Warkentin Siemens.

She married Paul Wiens on May 22, 1953. Together they raised their boys Gregory Paul and Emery Fulton. Darlene and Paul enjoyed 70 years together.

During her late teen years, she cared for her mother in failing health. Her husband Paul would later say she was instrumental in his own coming to faith in Jesus.

In the home she created, her love of Jesus was evident in everything she did. She read and taught the Bible to her boys. She taught Sunday School and co-lead her church’s youth program even before her boys were of that age. She enjoyed cooking for her family, especially made from scratch cinnamon rolls, chocolate cake and rhubarb pie.

Music was a great love of Darlene. In high school, she played the saxophone. She gave up her last year as a cheerleader in Inman High School to devote herself to increased practice time to preserve her 1^st chair status. She also played the piano. Over time she accumulated a substantial collection of vinyl recordings of music.

Darlene’s creative talents were evident in her sewing, crocheting and knitting. As a child she sewed many of her own clothes. Following her creative interests, she found employment at several retail stores. In Hillsboro, KS she ran her own arts and crafts store “Needle Niche” and always had many projects going for her business and family. Later in life, she kept busy sewing doll clothes to sell at area craft boutiques. She also enjoyed puzzles and her card table was often full of puzzles in progress.

She was preceded in death by her husband Paul, her parents, her brother Phil Siemens and sister Melba Odneal. She is survived by her sister Joan Hutter, Gregory (Heidi) and Emery (Donna), and grandchildren Amber, Andrew (Kelsey), Aaron, Nathan (Jena) and Caleb (Kara) as well as 10 and ½ great grand children.

Celebration of Life Service will be at Lighthouse Bible Church, Sunday September 28, 2025 at 2pm