Marie Elizabeth Wilds

Marie Elizabeth Perabo Wilds, 93, Topeka, passed away Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012, at Midland Care Hospice, Topeka. She was born March 5, 1919 at Tupelo Miss., the daughter of Philip Perabo and Malvina Elizabeth Sakach Perabo. She was educated in the Tupelo schools and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Maryville College (now Maryville University) in St. Louis Mo. She was married June 30, 1941, in St. Louis to Charles Ernest Wilds Jr., M.D., while he was doing his internship at St. Louis University Medical School. He preceded her in death on Aug. 25, 2009. Mrs. Wilds worked for the first Blue Cross Blue Shield in St. Louis, first as a bookkeeper, then as head of the cashier department. She was office manager in her husband's medical practice for four years in Monroe, La., before becoming a real estate salesperson, GRI, CRS and broker. For 23 happy and successful years, she sold in Monroe, La., metropolitan St. Louis, Mo., and in Topeka, Kan. During her 16-year career in Topeka from 1967 to 1983, she was a Realtor Associate first for J.C. Sargent, then J.R. Krieger and then Griffith & Blair Realtors. A member of the Million Dollar Club, she was a member of the Topeka Board of Realtors, Kansas Association of Realtors and served as president of the Women's Council of Realtors. She was honored as Realtor of the Year in 1975 and as Woman of the Year in 1977 by the Women's Council Topeka Board of Realtors. In 1976, she served as president of the Topeka Chapter of the Women's Council of Realtors. In 1983, she and her husband retired to Bella Vista, Ark., where they had spent their honeymoon in 1941. While there, she was very active in her church, the Bella Vista Garden Club and the Blowing Springs Chapter of Questers. In Topeka, she was a member of Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church. Survivors include five children, Veronica "Ronni" Wilds Clark, Bella Vista, Ark., Charles "Chuck" Ernest Wilds III, Wichita, Mary Wilds Lenz, Topeka, Richard Perabo Wilds, Lawrence, and Thomas "Tom" King Wilds, Dallas; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandsons. She also is survived by one sister, Ann Perabo Chopin of St. Louis, Mo.; and two brothers, Philip Perabo Jr. of Corpus Christi, Texas, and James Lee Perabo of Webster Groves, Mo. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012, at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Topeka, followed by interment at Penwell-Gabel Cemetery. A visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 24, at the Penwell-Gabel Mid Town Chapel, 1321 S.W. 10th Ave., Topeka, with a Rosary being prayed at 7 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 3601 S.W. 17th St., Topeka, KS 66604, Midland Care Hospice, 200 S.W. Frazier Circle, Topeka, KS 66606 or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. To leave a message for the family online, please visit www.penwellgabeltopeka.com.