An Extraordinary Life: Joliet man served 2 branches of military, raised 3 families

One of Ike Widner’s favorite memories is fishing along the DuPage River with his father.

Merle Widner of Joliet was a good fisherman, so naturally Ike called, “Help! Help!” when he caught a large snake instead of a fish – or so Ike thought.

“Well, it wasn’t a snake,” Ike, of Morris, said. “I caught a 3-foot eel out of the DuPage River.”

In addition to fishing, Merle taught his 14 children many skills, including gardening, farming and how to play the guitar. Mostly, Merle taught his children about God.

“He put God in my heart,” Ike said. “And then, when I had questions about the Bible, we would sit down and talk, and he would show me the answers.”

But Merle did more than impart factual knowledge. He taught “morals and values” and “how to have an open mind” about people who were different from you, to never “judge a book by its cover because someday you will be judged,” Ike said.

“He taught me about respecting others, never taking something for granted, to just be yourself and love others,” Ike said.

Humble roots

Ike said, Merle was born at home on April 25, 1926. His parents were Clarence and Velma Widner. They lived in Beardstown until Merle was 15, when the family moved to a small white house on Bluff Street in Channahon, Ike said.

And from that house Merle felt the explosion at the Joliet arsenal at 2:45 a.m. on June 5, 1942. Merle worked at the arsenal as a thatcher during her teen years.

“The explosion moved his bed from one end of the room to the other,” Ike said.

Eventually the family moved to a large farm on Spencer Road in Joliet, Ike said.

All kinds of service

Merle entered the Navy on May 10, 1944, and served four years, Ike said. Merle was stationed in Fort Pierce, Florida. He was a boatswain’s mate and a chief petty officer, Ike said.

Ike said Merle traveled on the USS Gladiator (AM-319) and the USS LCT (L) 660, Ike said. Merle served in the Asiatic Pacific area and received two stars and the Victory medal.

Merle was honorably discharged on May 21, 1946, Ike said.

“And then right after he got out of the Navy, he went into the Army,” Ike said. “He was going to make a career out of the military, but a three-letter word stopped him.”

That word was “Mom.”

Not Merle’s mom. The “mom” was Leona Marriner, the mother of three children and one of 15 children. Leona was from New Jersey. Merle met her through another of the Marriner girls while he was stationed in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where he was a private first class and a teletype operator. He also attended the U.S. Army’s Signal School from November 1949 to February 1950, Ike said.

“She told my dad, ‘There is a beautiful lady named Leona that I’d like to introduce you to,’” Ike said. “So he met my mom and he fell in love with her and her three children.”

Merle and Leona were married on Jan. 15, 1952, and Merle was honorably discharged in April 1953, Ike said. The newlyweds lived with Merle’s parents for a short time and then moved on a farm in the area of the Joliet Speedway today and had eight more children, Ike said.

“We were raised with no bathroom, no running water, no nothing,” Ike said. “But we did had a three-acre garden. He taught the boys how to raise a garden, how to raise chickens and rabbits and he taught the girls and my mom how to can and get prepared for the winter.”

Merle sold produce, too, but if someone only had “a few pennies for tomatoes and carrots,” Merle would simply hand them a bag, Ike said.

“He would just say, ‘Go pick them and enjoy them. It’s on our family,’” Ike said.

Ike said he was just 11 when he helped to disc fields with his 14-year-old brother Don. Merle taught the boys how to play guitar. All the kids taught themselves how to play piano on Leona’s piano (which the children were forbidden to touch) when their parents left the house, Ike said.

Merle joked with the kids by hiding objects and telling ghost stories by a bonfire, Ike said.

“But when it came to the Bible,” Ike said. “He was straightforward.”

Later years

In the 1960s, Merle worked at the Matthiessen Chemical Company on Richards Street and was at work when a tornado hit Joliet at 3:15 p.m. Nov. 12 1965, Ike said. Ike was in the fourth grade at Laraway School at the time, he said.

“It went through Preston Heights and Sugar Creek. It missed our farm house,” Ike said. “The police wouldn’t let my dad drive home. So he walked all the way home to my mother. The rest of us kids were at Joliet East Fire Department.

In 1968, Merle started working at Caterpillar Tractor in Joliet, Ike said. After the owners of the farm decided to sell the property, the Widner family moved to a gingerbread-style house on Joliet’s East side, Ike said.

Merle and Leona started several businesses: a record business, a gun business and a vacuum cleaner business, Ike said.

Their happiness was short-lived. Leona was diagnosed with cancer and died Aug. 27, 1981, Ike said.

“She was my dad’s love of his life,” Ike said. “He worshipped the ground she walked on.”

Merle retired from Caterpillar in 1983, Ike said. Merle worked the other businesses for a time but eventually sold them, Ike said. Merle married again. His new wife had three children, Ike said. Merle and his new wife had a child together, too, he said.

“He raised three families,” Ike said.

Merle was 95 when he died Dec. 8. And Ike has one final message for him.

“I’d like to thank him for serving the United States of America,” Ike said.

• To feature someone in “An Extraordinary Life,” contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at 815-280-4122 or dunland@shawmedia.com.